Investigation opened following death of man after police contact in Alfreton

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 23-year-old man who died following police contact at a property in Derbyshire.

Police officers attended a residential address in Morewood Drive, Alfreton on Wednesday afternoon (27 October) in relation to suspected drugs offences.

As officers were detaining Chad Allford at the property shortly after 5 pm, he became seriously unwell. An ambulance was called, and CPR was carried out but sadly he died later in hospital.

IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: “Our thoughts are with the Mr Allford’s friends and family following this tragic incident and I offer my condolences to them at this difficult time.

“We have spoken with family members to explain our role and how the investigation will progress. They will receive regular updates.

“I would like to assure people that we will carry out a thorough and independent investigation into what took place.”

The IOPC received a mandatory referral from Derbyshire Constabulary following the incident and began an independent investigation the same evening. Investigators attended the scene and the police post incident procedure to begin our enquiries.

The investigation is examining the nature of the interaction between police officers and Mr Allford including whether any force was used in his detention, and how his welfare was handled when he became unwell.

Investigators are assessing initial accounts from the police officers involved and statements from other witnesses. We are also analysing police officers’ body worn video footage.

A post-mortem examination is taking place today (Friday 29 October).

As we are at an early stage of the investigation, we are unable to provide any further information at this time.