A police officer who arrested Carl Maynard, a man who died suddenly in police custody after swallowing a bag of cocaine, has been challenged over why he did not take him to hospital.

PC Richard McIver-Hall was grilled by a barrister representing Mr Maynard's family at an inquest into the 29-year-old's death.

The father-of-one collapsed and died while having his finger prints taken at Tonbridge Police Station on Friday, November 13, 2017, following his arrest for allegedly punching his partner Chrissie Colgate.

The death sparked an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), now known as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A post-mortem report revealed Mr Maynard had a large plastic bag in his stomach and a level of cocaine in his blood similar to that of drug smugglers who had ingested packages which later burst.

PC McIver-Hall, one of three arresting officers who went to Mr Maynard's home in Lincoln Road, Shepway, near Maidstone, initially suspected the painter/ decorator had swallowed something when he was seen putting his finger down his throat as police entered his bedroom.

According to Miss Colgate, she heard them saying "what have you swallowed, Carl? Have you swallowed any gear, Carl? Your airways sound obstructed".

"You made a serious error didn't you? And as a result somebody died..." - Stephen Simblet, counsel for Maynard's relatives

While PC McIver-Hall denies saying these exact words, he agrees he asked several times about it.

Mr Maynard said he had not swallowed anything but stuck his fingers down his throat to press on sore spots to relieve pain from swelling due to a cold.

PC McIver-Hall accepted this answer as he claimed to not have seen an object in the suspect's hand.

Mr Simblet, counsel for Mr Maynard's relatives, suggested that despite this explanation the officer still believed Mr Maynard may have swallowed drugs but did not act.

He said: "It must be right that at some point Carl Maynard swallowed a package containing cocaine and it must be right from what was said both in Miss Colgate's evidence and your evidence that you must have thought he swallowed something.

"No, because he put his fingers in his mouth and at that point I had no explanation," the constable responded. "I know what I saw and I needed to ask these questions to establish it and when I did with Mr Maynard and Miss Colgate and my colleagues I totally believed that he had swallowed nothing."

Mr Simblet later went on to say: "You made a serious error didn't you? And as a result somebody died."

"No I didn't, sir. It's incredibly tragic," the officer replied.

The barrister also questioned PC McIver-Hall's decision to force entry to the house and for not using a body warn camera, despite guidelines recommending their use.

But the officer defended his action to enter the home saying that they believed Miss Colgate could have been in danger.

PC McIver Hall said he did not wear a camera himself as he was in plain clothes and did not have the proper mount but could not say why the other officers, who had the mounts, did not.

The inquest continues.

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