Sheku Bayoh's family have welcomed the George Floyd murder verdict as they continue their own fight for justice.
Sheku, 31, died in police custody on May 3 2015 after officers were called to reports of a 'man with a knife' in Kirkcaldy.
Yesterday saw former police officer Derek Chauvin convicted murder and manslaughter after African-American man George Floyd died during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25 this year.
Chauvin knelt on the 46-year-old's neck and back for nine minutes and 29 seconds before he lost his life.
His death sparked worldwide fury and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Following the verdict, Sheku's family said they 'couldn't believe the similarities' between the two incident, while hitting out at the handling of his case.
A statement released through Scots lawyer Aamer Anwar read: "The Bayoh family could not believe how similar Sheku’s case was to that of George Floyd, who also was criminalised, stereotyped and smeared in order to justify his death.
"Sheku Bayoh’s family have learnt a great deal from the trial and the Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC must answer for his betrayal of justice and failure to prosecute any police officers for Sheku’s death.
"The Bayoh family were impressed with the swift time frame from the death of George Floyd to the successful prosecution of one of the police officers Derek Chauvin.
"All of which begs the question as to how the Lord Advocate can justify taking over four years to decide whether police officers would face prosecution for allegedly killing Sheku.
"Soon the Bayoh family will mark the sixth anniversary of Sheku’s brutal death and still there has been no justice or accountability.
"George Floyd’s family had the opportunity to access expert witnesses with the cost met by the state which prosecuted his killer.
"The Bayohs with no state funding over the course of 5 years, were at the mercy of a flawed investigation carried out by the Crown Office and the PIRC.
"The family expect nothing less than the scale of expertise seen in the case of George Floyd, being brought to bear in the Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry.
"The Bayoh family will countenance no obstacles in the robust pursuit of the truth, as they know unlike the family of George Floyd they will never see justice for Sheku in a court room.
"George Floyd died with one officer holding him down, whilst Sheku Bayoh, unarmed, had up to six officers on top of him, was handcuffed with leg restraints, suffering multiple injuries including lacerations and a fractured rib, he fought like George to be able to breathe, yet the Lord Advocate decided not to prosecute.
"The Bayoh family are asking the Lord Advocate to show courage and revisit his flawed non- prosecution decision in light of of the George Floyd Trial. The Lord Advocate could still bring to trial those allegedly responsible for the death of Sheku Bayoh."
Sheku Bayoh died in 2015 after being restrained by up to nine officers in Kirkcaldy. Cops used batons and spray to subdue him.
His death came after officers responded to reports of a man waving a knife in the town centre and behaving erratically, but by the time the officers arrived at the scene, Bayoh no longer had the knife.
The dad-of-two, who had taken the drugs MDMA and Flakka, was found to have suffered 23 separate injuries.
His cause of death was recorded as 'sudden death in a man intoxicated . . . (drugs) whilst under restraint."
A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service told the Record: "The Crown examined the death of Sheku Bayoh in great detail, including the eyewitness accounts of police and civilian witnesses, and instructed appropriate lines of investigation.
"Following careful consideration and then a thorough review of all the available evidence by Crown Counsel, the most senior professional prosecutors in Scotland, it was concluded that there should not be a prosecution in this case.
"Although the evidence currently available would not justify criminal proceedings, the Crown reserves the right to prosecute should evidence in support of that become available.
"The Crown is committed to supporting the public inquiry which has been established to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Bayoh.
"In order to respect the inquiry process the Crown will not comment in detail at this time."
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