A witness in the death of Sheku Bayoh claims he hasn’t been spoken to by prosecutors or investigators since he made a statement three years ago.
The man spoke out in the same week the family of the Kirkcaldy man announced they are suing Scotland’s chief constable for £1.85 million.
The 31-year-old father of two died following the incident which happened on a street in Kirkcaldy on May 3 2015.
His family say a subsequent inquiry by the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner Kate Frame was flawed.
Now a witness, who lives near the spot where Mr Bayoh encountered officers, has said he gave statements to the police and to PIRC in 2015 but has heard nothing since.
He said: “I saw a lot of police and saw a large officer who looked as if he wanted to be involved.
“I would’ve thought it would only have taken about four officers to get the man down and restrain him but there seemed to be a lot more.
“They must have called for help, as I heard someone ask why the ambulance was taking so long to get there. I gave a statement afterwards but haven’t heard anything for years now.”
A PIRC spokesperson said more than 500 statements were obtained by investigators who also gathered evidence from a range of experts, adding: “We submitted reports to the Lord Advocate in August 2015 and August 2016 and the PIRC have undertaken any additional inquiry requested by the Crown Office.”
A spokesman for the Crown Office said it had been a complex and challenging investigation with further work to do, but insisted considerable progress had been made.
He said a full report would be submitted for consideration of crown counsel in due course.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson said: “We are committed to cooperating with the PIRC and Crown Office throughout the investigative process and while this continues we cannot comment further.”
Family solicitor Aamer Anwar claimed PIRC and the Crown Office were “blaming delays on each other”.
