- Conference
- 2016 National Black Members' Conference
- Date
- 23 September 2015
- Decision
- Carried
Conference, Sheku Bayoh originally from Sierra Leone, aged 31 years old, died on Sunday 3rd May, near Edinburgh, whilst in police custody. He was pronounced dead at an Edinburgh hospital just after 9am.
Unsubstantiated reports state he was left unconscious after being arrested by at first four, and then a further five police officers, who are accused of using batons, CS gas and pepper spray, after responding to reports that Sheku had a knife.
The inquiry into Sheku’s death by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC), the Scottish equivalent of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in England and Wales, has been delayed due to officer’s initially refusing to give statements, as witnesses to the incident. In Scotland the PIRC do not have the power to compel officer’s who are witnesses to attend interviews.
Conference, the Bayoh family now faces a long and painful struggle to get answers about Sheku’s death. How long should one wait for justice, as the injustices for many families have been long and painful, from Colin Roach to Sean Riggs, as Black people have been dying in police custody for many years, but we will not go quietly into the night without real justice being served and all those found to have been instrumental in the death of Sheku Bayoh’s must be dealt with through the criminal courts, as we will demand justice.
Conference, we therefore call on the National Black Members Committee to:
1)Send a message of support to the Bayoh family
2)Write to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner urging them to conclude the investigation into Sheku’s Bayoh death as soon as possible
3)Continue to highlight this and other important issue of deaths in police custody through Black Action and other UNISON communications
4)Report back to the 2017 National Black Members Conference on the outcome of the Sheku Bayoh inquiry and any further support that might be needed
5)Continue the campaign and support affiliated organisations in the fight against hate crimes and deaths in police custody.