A dad who allegedly hit his partner over the head with a hammer later choked to death on his own vomit. Graham Kent, from Dovecot, passed away in his flat in the early hours of August 2 last year.
An inquest heard that police were called to the 37-year-old's flat in Blackpool after neighbours witnessed a half-naked woman crawling around covered in blood. When authorities arrived at the property, Kent's girlfriend Jennifer was found on the floor with a head wound.
She said that Kent had caused the injury by striking her with a hammer. Officers also believed that Kent was trying to barricade himself inside the flat after they heard furniture being moved around, the Liverpool Echo reports.
They waited for back-up before attempting to force entry, Lancashire Live reports. When inside, at around 12.30am, police found Kent on the floor not breathing and started CPR.
An inquest at Blackpool Town Hall, on September 5, heard that he was pronounced dead at 1.27am. The family of the dad-of-two, who was a forklift truck driver, believed that had police forced entry as soon as they arrived at his flat then Mr Kent may have survived.
However a coroner found police actions did not contribute to his death. Senior Coroner Alan Wilson said: "This man resided with his partner and they both lived a chaotic lifestyle and abused alcohol and drugs.
Neighbours heard banging and screaming and witnessed Jennifer crawling outside, naked and calling for help. She said he had hit her on the head with a hammer."
The inquest heard that when police arrived at the scene they thought they could hear furniture being moved which led them to suspect Mr Kent was barricading himself inside. When police officers bearing shields arrived, 17 minutes later, they forced entry and found Mr Kent unresponsive in the bedroom.
The coroner added: "They found him led on his back not breathing. Some dark brown liquid came from his nose and mouth."
The inquest heard that Mr Kent's girlfriend Jennifer was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital where she underwent neurosurgery for a fractured skull and bleed on the brain. She was arrested on suspicion of murder after police had initially thought Mr Kent's death was caused by an injury but this was later ruled out by Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour.
The post mortem concluded that the medical cause of death was inhalation of stomach contents due to cocaine toxicity. Mr Kent's family asked if he could have survived if police had forced entry earlier but in her report Dr Armour said death would have been 'very rapid' and added: "The underlying cause was cocaine toxicity which caused a fatal cardiac arrhythmia. Once Mr Kent collapsed and inhaled his vomit death was inevitable."
Mr Kent's family also asked why the first officers on the scene couldn't have just gone in with their Tasers for protection but Temporary Chief Inspector Matthew Sanders from Lancashire Constabulary explained that the device is only effective from a distance and not when used close proximity.
He said: "I think they got the balance right between protecting the public and maximising the safety of the officers. The actions were proportionate and necessary and those I would have expected to be taken."
Returning a conclusion of drug-related death and responding to Mr Kent's family's concerns the coroner said: "There is no evidence that any actions [by the police officers] contributed to or caused Graham's death. I accept Temporary Chief Inspector Sanders' evidence that they were reasonable and rational decisions."
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