A Scottish Police Federation boss has launched a legal fight against disciplinary action over tweets about the Sheku Bayoh case.
General secretary Calum Steele is understood to have made comments on a social media thread in November 2019 about the dad’s death in Kirkcaldy.
They are alleged to have been accompanied by a “flippant” GIF.
Police chiefs believe the tweets were inappropriate and began misconduct proceedings against him. But Steele has instructed lawyers to raise a judicial review on his behalf.
He maintains officers are entitled to freedom of speech.
Steele believes Police Scotland has acted unlawfully and is seeking an order to halt the disciplinary case.
Yesterday at the Court of Session, Lord Fairley set a two-day hearing for April.
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Sheku died in May 2015 while being restrained by police in the street.
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A public inquiry into his death will not hear evidence from officers until next year.
Steele was previously found guilty by the police force’s Professional Standards department of “inappropriate and offensive’ comments on Twitter about former assistant chief constable Angela Wilson.