A jury at Liverpool and Wirral Coroner’s Court concluded on 23 October 2026 that David Brown, a 41-year-old Liverpool man, died of misadventure after ingesting a toxic amount of cocaine shortly before a stop and search by Merseyside Police on 21 August 2024. The finding carries institutional costs. Coroner Mr David Lewis announced he will send a Prevention of Future Deaths report to Merseyside Police, and possibly to the College of Policing, over a gap in police duties that the inquest laid bare.
The exposure is one of training and legal classification. Officers who know or suspect that an arrested person has swallowed drugs must treat that person as needing urgent medical attention and transfer them straight to hospital. David, however, was never placed under arrest. That meant police did not have the power to force him to attend hospital. The jury recorded that the officers’ actions were not wholly in accordance with College of Policing guidelines because of inconsistency with local training, though this was considered highly unlikely to have changed the outcome of his death.
The coroner noted that stop and search powers under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 are used on a regular basis, and said he was concerned, in this particular context, about the difference between stop and search detention and a situation where there is an arrest. The officers themselves told the inquest they did not feel their training equipped them to deal with the situation they faced. For a force that deploys these powers routinely, that admission is the operational risk the report is intended to address.
The events of 21 August 2024 unfolded after David, travelling as a passenger in a taxi, was stopped by officers who suspected he might be in possession of drugs. He was detained under Section 23 and taken to St Anne Street Police Station to be searched. Witnesses told the inquest they saw David being physically restrained by officers, who appeared to be searching for something in his mouth. Accounts from police officers also recounted that he was physically restrained in an attempt to check his mouth. An officer hit David with “dynamic strikes” on the back during the search, which witnesses also saw. A pathologist told the inquest that a number of injuries, such as grazes or bruising, were found on David’s body, but that these did not contribute to his death.
Some officers did not turn their body cameras on during the stop and search, telling the inquest they believed the cameras of other officers present would capture any evidential footage required. Officers performed a strip search of David at the station. It came back negative, and he was released without charge.
After his release, David took a taxi to an address in Anfield, Liverpool, where he reported that he had swallowed drugs and was feeling ill. He asked for an ambulance but collapsed shortly after, suffering an apparent seizure. Emergency services transported him to Royal Liverpool University Hospital in a state of cardiac arrest and attempted to resuscitate him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital that afternoon, his death from cocaine toxicity confirmed.
David’s family was represented at the inquest by Kate Stone of Garden Court North Chambers, instructed by Leanne Devine and Emily Driver of Leigh Day. Further coverage of the conclusion is available from Leigh Day, the Liverpool ECHO and BBC News, and a reference account of the inquest can be found at https://gcnchambers.co.uk/jury-finds-misadventure-after-inquest-into-death-of-david-brown/
Following the inquest, David’s sister Leeann Doolin paid tribute to him, saying: “David, or Brownie to those close to him, was a much-loved central point in our family, who brought joy, laughter and energy into every room he entered. He had a larger than life personality and a natural ability to build rapport with almost anybody, and above all was a devoted father who loved spending time with his children. We are grateful to the jury for taking the time to carefully examine the information and circumstances around David’s death. While this inquest has required us to reflect on the circumstances surrounding David’s death, these circumstances do not define the person he was.”
She added: “We feel there is a gap in the duties the police have towards a person detained for the purpose of a search when it is suspected that drugs have been swallowed,” and said the family’s loss had left a huge gap in their lives. The family also expressed gratitude to their barrister, Kate Stone, for giving David and the whole family a voice in the process. A pen portrait read out at the inquest by David’s niece described him as a “devoted” and “hands-on” father with a “larger than life personality”.
What remains open is how Merseyside Police and the College of Policing will respond to the Prevention of Future Deaths report, and whether the training gap the officers themselves identified will now be closed.