The family of Sheku Bayoh paid emotional tribute to the “kind, loving and friendly man” on the first day of the public inquiry into his death in police custody.
The inquiry was shown a video made by relatives and friends remembering him as the “life and soul of the party” and a devoted dad-of-two.
Day one of the hearings, which began in Edinburgh on Tuesday, was set aside to allow their memories of Sheku to be shared.
His sister Adama broke down in tears moments into reading her submission, forcing proceedings to be suspended for several minutes.
Later his sister Kadi told how she didn’t “feel safe anymore in Scotland” and was “nervous and worried” for her children.
Sheku, originally from Sierra Leone, died in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015 after he was restrained by up to nine police officers who used CS spray, pepper spray and batons.
Officers had responded to reports of a man waving a knife in the town centre but Sheku was unarmed at the time of the confrontation.
The 31-year-old was found to have suffered 23 separate injuries.
The public inquiry, which is being chaired by Lord Bracadale at Capital House in Edinburgh’s city centre, will consider whether race played a part in his death.
Lord Bracadale said they would hear from “family members to allow them to communicate to inquiry the person Sheku Bayoh was”.
Delivering her written statement, Sheku’s sister Kosna said: “It’s seven years since we lost our brother and the pain is still there. It’s been a long journey, but we are grateful for finally being here today.”
Next Adama broke down as she recalled her brother as a “fun-loving, cheeky” child who was a “mummy’s boy”.
After the hearing resumed, a video was shown featuring scenes of Sheku’s African homeland along with dozens of photos and clips of Sheku with family and friends.
In the video, his family told how Sheku was an “active” and “bubbly” boy and there was “never a dull moment” with him around.
It recounted how he left Sierra Leone after the outbreak of civil war and moved to London. Kadi said she encouraged her sibling to join her in Kirkcaldy, adding: “He moved to Scotland and loved it.”
She said Sheku “quickly made friends”, became a member of the student union, and did youth work with police in Fife.
Later in the video, his sister Kosna told how Sheku became “well-known” in Fife and was a regular in nightclubs.
Pals remembered how he would go to “two or three clubs” in a night and worked at one venue as a DJ.
Adama told how he loved spending time with his children, taking them swimming or to the park. She added: “Sheku always dreamed big. He dreamed of travelling with his family.
“He wanted the best for everyone. He was not a negative person. He was a positive person. He always looked on the bright side.”
The video revealed how Sheku had ambitions to open a clothes shop.
Family members then recalled seeing him for the last time before his death at his niece’s birthday party.
Kadi said she felt “regret” over “bringing him to Scotland”. She added: “That’s something that always plays in my mind forever.
“I don’t know his life would have been if he didn’t come to Scotland.”
At the end of the video, Sheku’s mother Aminata said: “I miss him a lot. We were very, very close. He was my only son. I was very close to him and miss him so much to this day.”
Next, in her statement delivered to the inquiry, Kadi said: “A piece of our family has been taken away.
“Because of the joy, love and freedom I experienced in Scotland, I told my little brother at the age of 17 to join me.
“I thought it would be a safer place for a young black man to grow up than London was.
“I did not know my brother’s life would be cut short at the age of 31.
“When Sheku moved to Scotland he had no problems settling in and quickly made friends who, until this day, fight on his behalf for justice.
“Sheku’s two sons have been robbed of a father. Sheku will never see them grow up.
“For seven years we have suffered heartbreak, anger and disappointment through this journey as we fight for justice.
“Following my brother’s death, so much was said about him. Some was good and some tried to smear his character.
“We appreciate over the course of this public inquiry we are likely to hear good and bad.
“But I urge you, over however long this inquiry takes, that Sheku was a kind, loving, friendly man who would help anyone who needs it.
“He was a man who loved his two boys and lived for them.”
She added: “You in the inquiry might not want to hear this, but I don’t feel safe anymore in Scotland. I feel nervous and worried for my children. I feel worried for the safety of my nieces and nephews.
“Why should we not have the privilege to enjoy Scotland like any other white person?”
Next Aamer Anwar, solicitor for the Bayoh family, read out a statement on behalf of Sheku’s partner, Collette Bell, who is the mother of one of his children.
He told how Collette met her future partner on a night-out in 2012 and it was “love at first sight”.
Collette spoke of his “larger than life personality”, his passion for music and rapping, and how he kept himself fit going to the gym.
She remembered: “More than anything else he was a family man.”
The inquiry was told the pair moved in together in January 2013 and were “madly in love”.
Collette recalled how Sheku would bring her flowers every week and was “supportive and affectionate”.
The hearing heard Sheku’s younger son who was only three-months-old when he died.
In the statement, Collette said their son “often asks why Daddy died and had to go to heaven” and she “dreads” telling him the truth.
She told how Sheku had started going to college to become a gas engineer and spoke of her anger at “attempts to turn him into a monster”.
She added: “I hope this inquiry fights for the truth.”
Lord Bracadale said the inquiry had heard “moving tributes” to Sheku and “powerful expressions of the impact of his death”.
He adjourned the hearing until Wednesday morning.
