Sheku Bayoh inquiry: Ex-officer Nicole Short 'feared he would kill her'

A former police officer feared Sheku Bayoh was going to "finish me off", the inquiry into his death heard on Tuesday.

Nicole Short claimed she was told for the first time that Sheku Bayoh had stamped on her head in the canteen following the incident which took place in Kirkcaldy on May 3 2015.

The former officer told the inquiry Mr Bayoh had been in a "press-up" position and had managed to lift three officers off of the ground.

She said: "I can't say for certain who was where, but I just remember Mr Bayoh, I'm positive he was in a kind of press-up position and he was trying to get up off the ground.

Former PC Nicole Short (centre) who stands just 5ft 1in tall, was forced to retire after sustaining injuries during the detention of Sheku Bayoh Pic: Andrew Milligan

"I just remember thinking, 'those are three of the biggest guys on shift and he's managing to lift them up'. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in my life."

Angela Grahame QC, senior counsel to the inquiry, asked Ms Short if she could recall where her colleagues were standing.

Ms Short replied that she could "not say with certainty" but recalled the three officers "struggling" with Mr Bayoh whom she described as "just about overcoming them".

She added: "He was just about overcoming them if you know what I mean, and I just remember being horrified.

Former Police Constable Nicole Short giving evidence at the inquiry

"I had a genuine belief he was going to get up and finish me off."

Ms Short described how Mr Bayoh had been surrounded by officers with one officer at each of his arms.

In her first witness statement relating to the incident, Ms Short said Sheku Bayoh was "derranged with superhuman strength".

She was asked by Ms Grahame what was meant by this, to which Ms Short replied: "I would say initially the super human strength element came with the Pava (pelargonic acid vanillylamide spray) and the CS spray having absolutely no effect on him.