The extent of the injuries suffered by Sheku Bayoh, who died in May after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Fife, was revealed by his family yesterday, and included cuts, gashes, bruises and a broken rib.
Although a post-mortem examination into the cause of his death is inconclusive, his family said he may have died from “positional asphyxia” after becoming unable to breathe when police officers, one of whom weighed 25 stone, restrained him.
Examinations reveal that petechial haemorrhages — small blood clots — were present in his eyes, which indicate he may have had difficulty breathing.
Mr Bayoh, 31, was found to have more than 20 cuts and bruises to his face, including a large, square cut on his forehead that is unexplained. He also had lacerations on his top lip and cuts on the inside of his mouth, the lower mouth and lower lip. He had a broken rib and a large graze on the right side of his chest, and cuts and bruises on his arms, hands, shins and knees.
Mr Bayoh’s family are concerned that investigators may try to blame his death on a controversial condition know as excited delirium to explain why he had to be restrained.
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They say that the Police Investigations Review Commissioner (Pirc) has commissioned reports from experts in excited delirium, which has been blamed by police forces in America and England for previous deaths.
Symptoms are said to include disorientation, violent and bizarre behaviour, insensitivity to pain, high body temperature and superhuman strength. Human rights groups claim it is often cited to shift blame from officers.