A retired chief superintendent has told the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry that police withholding death information from Mr Bayoh’s partner was “not the right thing to do.”
Retired chief superintendent Garry McEwan oversaw Fife’s police force at the time of Mr Bayoh’s death on May 3 2015.
The 31-year-old, father-of-two died after he was restrained on the ground by six police officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
The inquiry is investigating the circumstances of his death and whether race was a factor.
My immediate reaction was that, that was not the right thing to do
On Tuesday, senior counsel to the inquiry, Angela Grahame KC, said previous officers said they had been advised not to tell Mr Bayoh’s partner, Collette Bell, about “anything to do with police contact” following his death until further investigation had taken place.
Asked for his thoughts on this decision, Mr McEwan said: “It’s difficult because I don’t know the full circumstances of the investigation at that point.
“My immediate reaction was that, that was not the right thing to do.
“But I don’t know. There may have been other discussions in the background in the investigations strand.”
He added: “If I was there that day, I would have said, ‘Why not? Why wouldn’t we?'”
The retired superintendent mentioned his fears surrounding “community tensions” as a result of Mr Bayoh’s death after coming into contact with police.
He added: “Actually, it’s less about the community tensions.
“It’s more about treating Collette Bell as I would want my partner to be treated in similar circumstances.”
The 52-year-old continued: “I don’t know if by telling Collette Bell something, (that) would have compromised the investigation.
“There is nothing that’s obvious to me, but that wasn’t my area of responsibility.”
Mr McEwan advised that Mr Bayoh’s death was the first time he had ever declared a “critical incident” in his – at the time – 25 years of policing.
A critical incident is the most serious of incidents declared by police.
