Man died after cocaine bag 'exploded in his mouth'

A man died after a "large bag" of cocaine "exploded" in his mouth during a police raid as he was being arrested for drug offences, an inquest has heard.

Three police officers arrived to arrest Chad Allford at his partner's house in Morewood Drive, Alfreton, Derbyshire, on 27 October 2021.

The 23-year-old, from South Normanton, suffered convulsions on the driveway of the property after attempting to swallow the package of white powder.

Coroner Susan Evans said he was taken to King's Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire, where he died due to the effects of the cocaine later that day.

A jury inquest hearing at Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard officers had arrived to arrest Mr Allford as they believed he was involved in the supply of drugs.

The court heard although Mr Allford had tried to swallow Class A drugs, the officer making the arrest first called to request police back-up rather than an ambulance.

Three police officers first arrived at the property at about 16:45 BST on the day of his death to try and gain access through the front door, jurors were told.

Two of them, PC David Bull and PC Helen Ward, went to the rear of the property to check no-one could escape after initial attempts to open the front door with a key failed.

Officers came into contact with Mr Allford's friend Ryan Simms at the back door who was handcuffed by PC Ward, while PC Bull approached Mr Allford who was standing in the kitchen.

Giving evidence, 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."

As PC Bull "shouted" at him to spit the drugs out, Mr Allford appeared to be in a "panicked state" before he started to become "unwell very quickly", the court heard.

Mr Allford eventually coughed up a "60ml by 10ml piece of solid white substance", said PC Bull. The court heard he had been attempting to chew the drugs in an effort to swallow them.

The inquest heard PC Bull was the only officer with Mr Allford when he was first detained and chose not to turn his bodyworn camera on due to the "dynamic nature" of the policing operation.

He also said that turning on the camera was "discretionary" at that time.

The court also heard PC Bull did not inform Mr Allford his reason for making the arrest.

Solicitor Jodie Blackstock, representing the family, asked the officer: "Do you think it might have helped if you had calmly told him that he might die if he didn't spit out [the drugs]?"

PC Bull, in response, said: "In hindsight, maybe."

He added suitable training could have "potentially" provided him with "better skills" to deal with the situation.

The bodyworn camera of an officer later captured Mr Allford laid out on the driveway after he was taken to the front of the property on his side, shaking and unable to breath.

Officers continued to tell Mr Allford to "spit it out" before the convulsions stopped and he was moved on to his back.

His condition deteriorated further and police carried out CPR on him until paramedics arrived.

The inquest continues.

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