Theft suspect died 'while in police cell at Oldbury custody suite'
A suspected thief, who was found to have traces of opiates in his body, died while he was locked in a police cell, an inquest has heard.
Christopher Morgan was discovered ‘unresponsive’ by an officer carrying out regular patrols at Oldbury custody suite.
Police claim the 38-year-old showed no signs of concern just an hour before he was found, but medics and officers were unable to revive him on September 21 last year.
Giving evidence at Black Country Coroner’s Court, Pc Catherine Clinton recalled rushing out of Mr Morgan’s cell and raising the alarm after checking on him just before 2am.
Unresponsive
Pc Clinton explained: “When I lowered the hatch, I noticed that he was quite grey in the face and appeared to look quite unwell.
“I then entered the cell and shook his leg and noticed he was unresponsive.
“I then ran out the cell and shouted for other officers to assist.”
Mr Morgan, from Slaney Road, in Walsall, was arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of class A drugs and taken to the Bromford Road suite.
The ‘known drug user’ was initially placed on 30-minute observations but officers were later told to check on him every hour after a medical assessment.
He was later charged and remanded into police custody to appear before magistrates but refused to move to a different cell block along with other suspects waiting to go to court.
Speaking
Pc Clinton told the jury inquest that she had gone to check on Mr Morgan at 11pm and gave him medication at midnight – when he appeared ‘coherent’ while speaking.
The officer later called on a male colleague to give Mr Morgan toilet paper after the suspect pressed his buzzer asking for assistance at about 1am.
She went on to tell the inquest she did not see any signs of injury or indications that Mr Morgan had vomited when she found him unresponsive in the cell later that morning, the inquest heard.
Police sergeant Neil Cope said he rushed into the cell when his colleagues called out for help, cutting open Mr Morgan’s T-Shirt before the team attempted to resuscitate him.
The custody officer said: “I thought he was just unconscious. It was only when the nurse shouted out for a defibrillator I knew it was something more serious.
“It felt like an eternity. I genuinely believe we did all we could for Mr Morgan at that time.”
The jury also heard Mr Morgan, who was pronounced dead at 2.25am, tested positive for opiates and negative for cocaine while in custody.
The case continues.
