Inquest into death of man who died after police arrest opens
GoogleAn inquest has opened into the death of a man who died after being arrested.
David Brown, 41, collapsed at his partner's home on 21 August 2024 after being released from St Anne's Street police station in Liverpool.
An inquest heard that his partner told paramedics he had swallowed 10 £30 bags of cocaine.
The hearing - before a jury at Wirral Coroners Court - is expected to last five days.
Assistant coroner David Lewis told the jury that Brown was the passenger of a taxi that was stopped by two Merseyside Police officers on Priory Road in Liverpool.
The officers suspected he had drugs on him, and arrested him and took him to the station.
The jury was told Brown was searched but nothing was found, and he was released.
He later suffered an apparent seizure at his partner's home.
He was taken to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital where, despite resuscitation attempts for an hour, he was pronounced dead.
Pathologist Dr Jonathan Metcalfe told the court he found a cocaine wrap in Brown's oesophagus, but none elsewhere in the body.
Toxicology tests found a high level of cocaine in his blood.
A number of bruises and marks on Brown's body could, he told the jury, have been the result of restraint or the holding necessary during efforts to save his life.
There was no evidence he said of violence to the body.
He said the cause of death was given as cocaine toxicity.
The jury also from Brown's niece Shavaughan Doolin, who told them he was a devoted dad and family man who was full of life, who made friends wherever he went, and loved cars.
In tears, she said his death had left a huge gap in the lives of all who loved him.
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