A father who died of a cocaine overdose after reportedly swallowing 10 bags of the drug would probably not have survived even if he had been treated earlier, a doctor has said.
David Brown, 41, told his girlfriend he had swallowed the bags of cocaine to conceal them from police after the taxi he was riding in was stopped on Priory Road, Anfield, on August 8 2024. He was detained and taken to St Anne Street police station for a strip search. During the journey, he told officers he had swallowed a wrapper after sniffing its contents.
At the police station, the strip search was negative and David was released without charge. He took a taxi to his girlfriend's house in Anfield, where he said he had swallowed 10 £30-value bags of cocaine and complained of feeling ill. He asked her to call an ambulance before collapsing and suffering an apparent seizure. Emergency services arrived at 12.42pm, and David was taken by ambulance to Royal Liverpool Hospital in a state of cardiac arrest. He died at 2.30pm that day.
Doctor's evidence at inquest
Giving evidence on the second day of his inquest on October 20, Dr John Murray said it was "highly unlikely" that David would have survived even if he had arrived at the hospital earlier. He said: "We may have been able to give treatment earlier. Whether it would have changed anything I think is highly unlikely."
He added: "People who swallow drugs are called body stuffers, and it's a highly risky process because the bags aren't designed to go through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It's a highly risky business, swallowing bags that are not designed for that. Looking back, looking at his cocaine levels, it's unlikely that earlier care would have made a difference to the end result." He said there was no antidote for cocaine toxicity.
Taxi driver's account
The taxi driver who transported David on the day he died described him as being "nice and calm" shortly before his arrest. Delta taxi driver Patrick Donohue was called to pick up David on Oban Road, Anfield, at around 11am on August 8 2024. David first asked to go towards Breeze Hill near the medical centre, then changed his mind and redirected Mr Donohue to Breck Road, where he said he had to pick up a mobile phone.
Mr Donohue said: "As we're going up towards Anfield Road I noticed there was a market there and I said to David 'how long has that been there?' and he started talking about going round the car boot sales looking for fishing gear. He said something about going to get his phone because he'd had a late one. As we were going he said 'go up Lancaster Street' just off Rice Lane, and he said 'just pull up here, I won't be long'. As he says that, he leans over and gives me a tenner, which is a way of saying 'I'm not messing you around'."
Mr Donohue said he texted his wife while he waited. David returned and got into the back passenger seat, and they set off towards Queens Drive. Mr Donohue said: "He must have been on the phone to someone because he said 'see you later', something along those lines. When he got off the phone he started talking again, about fishing this time, and I asked him about it. He said 'when I get there I have a few drinks, fall asleep and when I wake up all my lines are tangled'."
Police stop and aftermath
As the taxi turned down Walton Lane onto Priory Road, Mr Donohue noticed an unmarked police car behind them with blue lights on. He said: "I've been driving taxis for 20 years so I just moved over to let them past, but they slowed down and I thought 'these are for us'. As I pulled up, two officers got out. One goes to my window and one goes to David's window. I'm still seated. I roll the window down. The officer says 'you stay there, we're not after you'. They said there's been some drug activity where you have just been."
He remained in the taxi while David was asked to get out. He said he then received a phone call from his wife and heard a "commotion" outside. He said: "I heard 'spit it out, spit it out'. I thought what's going on? So I turned around and one of the policemen has got David in a headlock and they're trying to do something to his face. Then a marked police car came around the corner with the lights flashing."
The inquest previously heard that, while searching David, police suspected he had something in his mouth and ordered him to spit it out, but nothing was spat out. Mr Donohue said: "It looked like they were trying to prise his mouth open." The taxi was searched and nothing was found, and Mr Donohue was told he was free to leave.
He said: "I did a U-turn to head back home and as I turned, David was standing and he was surrounded by four of them (police). He wasn't being restrained but he had his head up and he was moving his mouth as if to say 'I haven't got anything'. And that's the last time I saw him." He said he had not seen David sniff or ingest anything during the car journey, and that he "had a ruffled look about him" but seemed "nice and calm". The inquest continues.
