Powerful photography exhibition highlights plight of Britons who died in police custody

A powerful exhibition curated by the families of those who died in police custody and mental health units in the UK has launched in Glasgow.

The series will pay tribute to Sheku Bayoh and Katie Allan, two victims of the failures by emergency services which sparked nationwide protests in Scotland.

The families of Sheku Bayoh, who died after contact with Police Scotland, and Katie Allan, who died in Polmont prison, are among 18 families involved from around the UK. These include other state-related deaths dating back to the 1980s.

Father-of-two Mr Bayoh, 31, died after he was restrained on the ground by six police officers in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on May 3, 2015. His death sparked accusations of institutional racism within Police Scotland.

An ongoing public inquiry is examining the circumstances leading up to his death, the subsequent investigation and whether race had been a factor.

James Wolffe, former head of Scotland’s prosecution service, when the Crown Office decided no-one should face charges over Sheku Bayoh’s death expressed his “deep regret” over the family

Katie Allan, 21, was found dead in her cell at Polmont YOI on 4 June 2018. She was sent there in March 2018 after being sentenced to 16 months for a drink-driving hit-and-run crash. Katie was allegedly bullied during her time in Polmont and was taunted over her hair loss through alopecia. Her mental health began to deteriorate while she was in custody.

A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) will held into the death of Katie Allan, with a preliminary hearing on scheduled in July at Falkirk Sheriff Court. An evidential hearing is then expected to commence on 8 January 2025.

Photographer Sarah Booker, and the charity INQUEST joined the families to curate SoulsINQUEST which will go on display at Platform Arts Centre in Easterhouse as part of the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art.

The collaboration has been described as “an embodiment of family resistance that refuses to be silenced, misrepresented, or forgotten.”

Katie’s mother Linda said the family learned to “survive” and “fight” after she took her own life at HMYOI Polmont in Falkirk in June 2018.

Katie, 21, was serving a 16-month prison sentence after being convicted of a drink-driving offence that injured a 15-year-old boy.

Her parents Linda and Stuart Allan, who have campaigned tirelessly since her death, remember her through a concept photograph of the family standing on the beach as they look ahead to an endless blue ocean where Katie’s ashes are scattered in Camusdarach, on the West Coast of Scotland.

Linda said: “Almost six years have passed since we last saw our daughter in life. We have learned to survive, and we have learned to fight. There are still moments that simply take our breath away still aftershocks.

“To speak and share Katie’s life, who she was, and what she might have been was so cathartic, allowing us to trust and to share our ‘sacred spaces’ with Sarah. So often when a life is lost at the hands of the state, the focus is on the death, the fight for justice, the pain. SoulsINQUEST offered us a different journey, a place to share our ‘before’, to share Katie’s joy.”

Sheku Bayoh’s family share the pain suffered through the mutual death of a loved one by showcasing their artistic vision through a concept photo to pay homage to his memory.

In newly-unveiled images his sister Kadi Johnson, who has vigorously campaigned since Sheku’s death, is depicted in a portrait, which feature newspaper coverage of the inquiry into his death.

Speaking to The Independent, human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar, who represents the families of Mr Bayoh and Mr Allan said: “The exhibition represents the role of families, who in the midst of their grief are forced to set up campaigns for justice.

“Inquest central to all these family campaigns has been invaluable, there is no other organisation that fights on the frontlines like they do. But at the heart of the photo exhibition is the love that drives these families to seek justice.”

Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, said: “Families bereaved by deaths in state custody and care face lifelong struggles against indifference, denial and impunity.

“The exhibition poses a challenge to all those who view it: to be moved as they bear witness to each story, and to be inspired to stand with these families in their continued struggles for truth, justice, accountability and societal change.”

Sarah, the photographer who collaborated with the families, said: “Through photography and text, 18 families have wrestled with symbols. Symbols which honour their loved ones, killed by institutions that failed to protect them. Symbols which are conduits and connectors between those who have passed and those who loved them dearly.

Lee Laurence was only 11 years old when his mother Cherry, was shot and left paralysed from the chest down after armed police broke into her Brixton home in 1985. This sparked the 1985 Brixton riots and in 2014, police apologised for the wrongful shooting. His image shows a wheelchair which represents his mother who has been disabled following the incident.

An excerpt from the read: “11-year-old me I lay in mum’s bed, Excited about The weekend ahead. Riding down hills On my BMX bike, Learning new tricks The simple things I liked. Safe in her arms Is what I remember, But everything changed 7am, 28th of September. Another loud bang! I jump startled in disbelief. Mum lying bloodied on the floor. Faintly whispering I cannot breathe,”