A Scottish Police Federation representative told the Sheku Bayoh inquiry she saw a mark on a PC’s vest which appeared as if it was “roughly the shape of a shoe”.
PC Amanda Givan was giving evidence to the inquiry, which is investigating the death of Mr Bayoh after he was restrained by nine police officers in Kirkcaldy on May 3 2015.
The inquiry had previously been told Mr Bayoh had punched and stamped on PC Nicole Short during the incident.
PC Givan, as a member of the Scottish Police Federation, attended Kirkcaldy Police Station after the officers were sent back.
Mr Bayoh had been taken to hospital as paramedics fought to save his life.
‘Roughly the shape of a shoe mark’
PC Short was taken to hospital but later returned to the station where PC Givan said in her inquiry statement she saw what “looked like a dirty mark” on her vest.
“If I’m being asked to speculate, it looked like it was roughly the shape of a shoe mark,” the statement said.
“Albeit you couldn’t see specific tread detail but it looked to be roughly the size and shape.
“It was a kind of long, thin mark, roughly the shape of a shoe.”
She added: “I made the presumption that perhaps it had been caused when she was injured and that she had perhaps been kicked or stood on.”
In her statement, PC Givan said the only conversation she had with PC Short about it was “to make sure she identified the mark to them” and told the inquiry she did not remember how or when it was noticed on her vest.
PC Givan told Ms Grahame PC Short had been suffering from “discomfort” after the incident and appeared to be avoiding moving her neck.
PC Givan said: “My recollection is that if she was going to speak to someone she entirely moved her body from her waist.
“She didn’t turn her head, she turned her entire body.
“She appeared to have discomfort in her upper body, which is why she was moving the way I thought she was moving.”
Police anxiety in station
The PC told inquiry counsel Angela Grahame QC officers were “all really anxious” when they were in the canteen waiting for more information on 31-year-old Mr Bayoh.
“They were worried,” PC Givan told the Edinburgh-based inquiry.
“Again, from my recollections, I don’t think they had any update about what had happened or was ongoing, that they had been in the canteen with no feedback – no new information – so they were all a bit anxious.”
Mr Bayoh’s family have said they believe his race played a part in his treatment but officers involved in his arrest in Kirkcaldy’s Hayfield Road have denied this.
PC Givan said when she arrived at the police station it appeared nobody was in charge of the situation and people were coming in and out of the canteen where the officers sat, with no control in place.
The inquiry, chaired by Lord Bracadale, heard she had advised them not to speak about the case but their formal warning did not take place until mid-morning.
She said she did not believe it had been given before she arrived.
By the end of the day, officers were seen by a doctor and their uniforms seized, the hearing was told.
PC Givan, who has been an officer for almost 30 years and will retire from Police Scotland on Friday, said she advised officers at the point they were asked to give statements to establish whether they were a witness or a suspect and if the information had not been given, to not give statements.
The inquiry continues.
