Suspect's death in Oldbury police cell was 'drug-related'
A suspect who died while locked in a police cell suffered a drug related death, an inquest has ruled.
Unemployed Christopher Morgan fell from his bunk and onto the floor while sleeping in a cell at Oldbury custody suite.
He was discovered ‘unresponsive’ by a police officer conducting regular patrols on the wing but resuscitation attempts failed to revive him on September 21 last year.
Jurors at Black Country Coroner’s Court deliberated for just under one hour and 30 minutes before recording a conclusion of drug-related death on Wednesday.
During the two-day inquest, jurors heard Mr Morgan was arrested in Wolverhampton on suspicion of theft and possession of class A drugs and taken to the Bromford Road suite.
The suspect, of Slaney Road, Walsall, was alleged to have stolen items from a pound store and was found with cocaine when detained.
He was initially placed on 30-minute observations but officers were later told to check on him every hour after a medical assessment.
Mr Morgan was later charged and remanded into police custody to appear before magistrates but refused to move to a different cell block with other suspects waiting to go to court.
Fractured
Pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar revealed the medical cause of death was coronary artery atheroma – heart disease – influenced by cocaine usage.
He told jurors he spotted 10 injuries on Mr Morgan’s body but said these were not as a result of his time in custody.
Mr Morgan, who used cocaine and heroin daily, also suffered a fractured ribcage caused by attempts to resuscitate him.
The pathologist told the court CCTV from Mr Morgan’s cell showed the 38-year-old falling from his bunk and making ‘epileptiform movements’ just before 1.30am.
He went on to say Mr Morgan suffered with narrowed arteries which could lead to a ‘risk of sudden, unexpected death’.
Giving evidence, Pc Catherine Clinton recalled checking on Mr Morgan at 11pm and giving him medication at midnight, when he appeared ‘coherent’ while speaking.
The officer later called on a male colleague to give Mr Morgan toilet paper.
She said she did not see any signs of injury or indications Mr Morgan had vomited when she found him unresponsive in the cell at just before 2am.
The jury of five men and four women also heard Mr Morgan, who was pronounced dead at 2.25am, tested positive for opiates and negative for cocaine while in custody.
