An inquest into the death of a 23-year-old man in the UK revealed that he died after a ‘large bag’ of cocaine ‘exploded’ in his mouth during a police raid.
The jury at the Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard that the incident occurred when three police officers attempted to arrest Chad Allford at his partner’s residence in Derbyshire, UK, on October 27, 2021.
Police suspected Allford of being involved in drug distribution and tried to enter the property through the front door.
After failing to unlock the front door, officers PC David Bull and PC Helen Ward went to the back and encountered Allford’s friend, Ryan Simms, at the rear entrance.
PC Ward handcuffed Simms, while PC Bull confronted Allford in the kitchen.
In testimony at the hearing, cited by BBC News, PC Bull described the event: “He looked at me with a very shocked expression. He raised his hand to his mouth. I saw a white powder substance explode.”
The inquest disclosed that Allford attempted to swallow a ‘large bag’ of cocaine and tried to chew it to ingest the drugs.
PC Bull reportedly yelled at Allford to spit out the drugs, and he eventually expelled a ’60ml by 10ml piece of solid white substance’.
During the chaos, Allford reportedly entered a ‘panicked state’ and rapidly became ‘unwell’.
Shaking and struggling to breathe, Allford was moved to the front of the property and placed on his side while officers urged him to ‘spit [the drugs] out’.
Allford continued to have convulsions on the driveway, and once they ceased, officers repositioned him on his back. As his condition deteriorated, they administered CPR until paramedics arrived.
Allford was transported to King’s Mill Hospital, where he succumbed to cocaine’s effects later that day.
During the inquest, it was revealed that, despite Allford swallowing Class A drugs, the officer initially called for police backup instead of an ambulance.
PC Bull was the sole officer with Allford at the time of detention and explained that he did not activate his bodycam due to the ‘dynamic nature’ of the operation, nor did he clarify the arrest’s purpose to Allford.
PC Bull noted that using the body camera was ‘discretionary’ at the time.
The jury concluded that Allford’s death was due to misadventure, caused by cocaine consumption.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found ‘no evidence’ of officer misconduct contributing to his death, though it indicated the failure to use bodycams ‘did not comply with police policy’, according to BBC News.
A police force spokesperson stated they would ‘carefully consider the inquest’s outcome, along with the prevention of future deaths report when received, and implement any necessary changes or improvements’.
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