Derbyshire man, 23, died after swallowing cocaine “package” during police raid, inquest hears

Chad Allford, 23, died on October 27, 2021 after police – who believed he was “involved in the supply of drugs” – raided his girlfriend’s Alfreton home.

A police constable who tried to detain Chad in the kitchen of the Morewood Drive property described seeing a “white powder substance exploding” from his head.

Moments after swallowing the drug – Mr Allford became “very unwell” and was shown in bodyworn camera footage at the front of the address “convulsing” on the floor as officers asked him to spit out the drugs.

A jury heard despite knowing Chad had swallowed “a large amount of drugs”, rather than call paramedics, the arresting officer’s first call was to request back-up from other officers.

Chesterfield Coroners Court heard Chad eventually coughed up a “60ml by 10ml piece of white substance” however his condition deteriorated to the point that he stopped breathing and could not be revived during the arrest.

After police performed CPR on the South Normanton man he was rushed to King’s Mill Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Coroner Susan Evans said he died from the effects of cocaine.

Opening the inquest into Chad’s death today (Monday) Ms Evans said Chad was at the address of his partner on Morewood Drive, Alfreton when police attended to arrest him “on suspicion of drugs offences”.

After being unable to gain entry through the front door they detained Chad’s friend as he exited the back door, then police entered to arrest Chad. Giving evidence at the inquest PC David Ball described detaining Chad inside Morewood Drive – with no other officers present – on the day of his death.

The officer admitted that he made a decision not to activate his bodyworn camera “due to the dynamic nature of the plan to enter the address” and because its use was "discretionary" at the time.

Solicitor Jodie Blackstock, representing Chad’s family, asked PC Ball “there was no reasonable reason not to activate your camera was there?”

He replied: “I made the decision at the time based on what I knew.” The solicitor said: “If we had that footage we would know what happened when you went into the property wouldn’t we.” “Yes,” replied PC Ball.

Describing the scene as he entered the rear of the property alone, PC Ball said: “He was standing still at the time, looking at me with a very shocked expression on his face. I asked Chad to give me his hands with the intention of placing him in handcuffs.”

The court heard, however, PC Ball failed to state the reason for Chad’s arrest.

PC Ball said: “Very quickly he threw his hands behind his back, turned and faced away and stepped forward and moved his hands to his front. I saw him raise his right hand and arm quickly to his mouth. I saw a white powder substance exploding and coming away from his head.

"I had a clear belief he was attempting to conceal the drugs in his hands by putting it into his mouth. At that point I said ‘spit it out’.”

The officer claimed he was then able to reach Chad and pull his hands away from his mouth, confirming he had given him “one to three seconds” to spit out the drugs before doing so.

However there was then a “struggle” and Chad was in a “panic state”, not allowing PC Ball to see his face. The officer said: “After a short time he fell to his knees and quickly fell to the floor. It wasn’t my actions.

"I could see a lot of white substance in his mouth along with some cling film – he was on his side with his head towards the door. He was forcefully keeping his mouth closed.”

PC Ball was then joined by another officer who tried to get Chad to spit out the drugs while PC Ball held him on his side.

PC Ball said: “I could see cling film and a white substance in his right hand. Eventually he wasn’t kicking out as much and was coughing – he coughed up an item, covered in blood, mucus and spit but it was a 60ml by 10ml piece of white substance.

"He had also dropped what was in his right hand – a white substance with cling film around it which was smaller. He was breathing again – his face was very red, almost purple which made me believe something had potentially stuck in his throat.”

Bodyworn police footage from the front garden of the Morewood Drive property showed Chad on his side while convulsing and unable to breath, with blood coming from his mouth.

Officers were shown holding Chad’s hand as he was held in the recovery position while another police officer repeatedly told Chad to “spit it out”. As more calls were made to the ambulance service Chad was shown on his back no longer breathing as an officer performed CPR.

Chad's inquest - expected to last four to five days - continues. It will examine whether police involvement contributed to his death, said Coroner Ms Evans.