Police Scotland, their watchdog and the Crown Workplace operated an "unholy trinity of dishonesty, racism and incompetence", it has been claimed forward of an inquiry into the dying of a black man who died after being restrained by officers.
Sheku Bayoh, a 31-year-old trainee fuel engineer, died in Might 2015 whereas being held by officers who had been responding to a name in Kirkcaldy, Fife.
The inquiry into his dying opened on Tuesday, Might 10.
The Bayoh household solicitor, Aamer Anwar, challenged the law enforcement officials concerned to provide a full testimony if that they had nothing to cover.
The general public inquiry, chaired by Lord Bracadale, is ready to look at the circumstances main as much as the incident, and the next administration course of and investigation into the dying.
It can additionally look to ascertain the position the father-of-two's race could have performed in his dying.
Mr Anwar stated the inquiry would have by no means occurred had it had not been for the "braveness and perseverance of Sheku's family members who've refused to stroll away, be silenced, bullied or patronised".
"Over time, it has develop into clear to the household that the police, Pirc (the Police Investigations and Overview Commissioner), and Crown Workplace, has operated an unholy trinity of dishonesty, racism and incompetence, betraying the phrase justice," he instructed a press convention.
"Kadi Johnson (Mr Bayoh's sister) has little question that the way in which Sheku or her household had been handled by the justice system wouldn't have occurred had Sheku been white, their therapy was compounded by repeated assaults from those that stay in a child-like denial concerning the existence of racism in policing in the present day.
"Kadi has described Skeku as Scotland's George Floyd, however taking the knee and Black Lives Matter will imply nothing if Scotland fails to help justice for Sheku."
Mr Anwar added: "In lower than 50 seconds of the primary law enforcement officials arriving, Sheku Bayoh was dropped at the bottom, he was handcuffed and retrained with leg and ankle cuffs, and would by no means rise up once more, shedding consciousness and dying.
"As Kadi stated after they put her brother's lifeless physique within the ambulance, he was nonetheless shackled like a slave, with over 24 separate accidents, cuts, lacerations, bruises and a damaged rib.
"Inside minutes, the method of criminalising, smearing and stereotyping started to implement a picture of a mad and harmful black man, wielding a knife and with stereotypical traits of extraordinary energy in an try to blame Sheku for his personal dying, however he was unarmed and by no means deserved to die."
No expenses have been introduced due to his dying, however Mr Anwar stated the household felt if the law enforcement officials concerned had nothing to cover that they had "nothing to concern from coming and giving a full and frank testimony to the inquiry".
He stated the "actual check of this inquiry" could be "whether or not this nation acts to make sure that actual change takes place in an unaccountable, all highly effective justice system".
"Sadly, Sheku isn't by any means to first man to die in police custody however, if something, I hope that his identify doesn't fade from reminiscence and that at some point the identify of Sheku leaves us a legacy that his youngsters will be happy with," he stated.
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