The head of the investigation into the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody will "listen to the concerns" his family have in a meeting this week.
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) Kate Frame will meet on Thursday relatives of Mr Bayoh, 31, who died after being restrained by officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife on May 3.
Ms Frame said she understands the need for answers around the death and wants to hear any additional information from his partner Collette Bell and family they think might be relevant to the investigation.
A post-mortem examination proved inconclusive and a Sunday newspaper reported family concerns that experts called in by investigators may blame a medical condition known as excited delirium, which has been cited in other custody deaths.
It is used to describe the state of a person who, as a result of mental illness or drug use, becomes agitated, violent and displays extreme strength.
The Pirc said the fact that forensic pathology experts from outside Scotland have been contacted is not a sign that it has focused its investigation on a particular cause of death and that all lines of inquiry are being explored to establish the circumstances.
Ms Frame said: "I fully empathise with the deceased's family and their need for answers in relation to the circumstances surrounding the death of Sheku Bayoh on May 3.
"I'm looking forward to meeting with the Bayoh family on Thursday and welcome the opportunity to discuss my role as commissioner and the investigation process.
"I will listen to the concerns that the family have raised recently and update them on the further work that is being undertaken before the matter is fully reported to the Lord Advocate.
"I'm also keen to receive any additional information from them which they consider might be relevant to the ongoing investigation.
"I fully recognise the family's need for a clear understanding of what caused Sheku Bayoh's death, and despite the fact that the post-mortem conducted shortly after his death was inconclusive, I remain committed to thoroughly investigating all lines of enquiry."
The family of Mr Bayoh, a trainee gas engineer and father-of-two, last week met the Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland to discuss the investigation.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar said: ''The Bayoh family have stated from day one that Sheku acted out of character and that if he broke the law then the police had a right to act, but he did not deserve to die.
''When officers armed with CS, pepper spray, batons and handcuffs and restraints, try to subdue someone by force and that person dies, the number one question is whether their actions resulted in that death.''
Police Scotland said they await the conclusion of the Pirc investigation and remain committed to co-operating fully with the body's inquiries.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel