Emily Brown
An inquest looking in to the death of a 23-year-old man in the UK heard that he died after a 'large bag' of cocaine 'exploded' in his mouth during a police raid.
The jury at the hearing at Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard that the death took place after three police officers arrived to arrest Chad Allford, while he was at his partner's house in the county of Derbyshire, UK, on October 27, 2021.
Officers believed Allford was involved in the supplying of drugs, so attempted to gain access through the front door of the property when they arrived.
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Initial attempts to open the front door using a key failed to work, so officers PC David Bull and PC Helen Ward went round to the back of the house and came into contact with one of Allford's friends, Ryan Simms, at the back door.
PC Ward handcuffed Simms while PC Bull approached Allford, who was standing in the kitchen.
Speaking at the hearing, per BBC News, PC Bull told jurors: "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 heard that Allford had attempted to swallow a 'large bag' of cocaine, and tried to chew the drugs in an effort to swallow them.
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PC Bull is said to have 'shouted' at Allford to spit the drugs out, and he eventually coughed up a '60ml by 10ml piece of solid white substance'.
During the ordeal, Allford is said to have entered a 'panicked state' and started to become 'unwell very quickly'.
Shaking and unable to breathe, Allford was taken to the front of the property and laid on his side on the driveway, while officers continued to tell him to 'spit [the drugs] out'.
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Allford continued to suffer convulsions on the driveway of the property, but when they stopped, officers moved him on to his back. As his condition worsened, officers began to perform CPR until paramedics arrived.
Allford was taken to King's Mill Hospital, but he died due to the effects of the cocaine later that day.
During the inquest, the court heard that, despite the fact Allford had tried to swallow Class A drugs, the officer making the arrest initially called for police back-up rather than an ambulance.
PC Bull was the only officer with Allford when he was first detained, and the court heard that he chose not to turn on his bodycam due to the 'dynamic nature' of the policing operation, nor did he inform Allford his reason for making the arrest.
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PC Bull said that turning on the camera was 'discretionary' at that time.
Following the inquest, the jury ruled that Allford's death was a result of misadventure, and that he died due to the effects of cocaine consumption.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has also said it found 'no evidence' that officers caused or contributed to his death, though it did say that failure to turn on the bodycams had 'not complied with police policy', BBC News reports.
A spokesperson for the police force said it will now 'take the time to carefully consider the outcome of the inquest, along with the prevention of future deaths report when it is received, and make any necessary changes or improvements'.
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