After two incidents involving the same man huffing inhalants earlier this month, Saline police are warning the public to watch out for signs of abuse of the drugs in friends and family.
According to a Saline police report, the same 25-year-old Clinton man was arrested May 19 and May 20 after inhaling a large amount of fumes from an dust remover and compressed air cans. The inhalants left the man passed out in a Mexican restaurant’s bathroom on May 19 and convulsing in the back of a taxi cab on May 20.
The report stated police were called at 3:34 p.m. May 19 to Cancun Mexico Grill, 405 E. Michigan Ave. for a report of a person passed out in the bathroom. According to the report, the Clinton man appeared to be passed out with a can of dust remover in his hand.
The next day, police would get a similar call. Detective Don Lupi called the incidents “disturbing.”
“Watch for friends and family who have these materials around the house and are not using them for legitimate purposes,” Lupi said.
When police found the man in the bathroom of the restaurant, he woke up when police attempted to remove the can of dust remover from his hand. According to the report, “he yelled ‘You cannot have this!’ when officers tried to take it.”
The man was put in handcuffs and taken to the University of Michigan Hospital for treatment. It wouldn’t be his last trip to the hospital.
The man was discharged about noon on May 20 and picked up by a taxi driver for a ride home to Clinton. On the way, they stopped in Saline and the Clinton man instructed the driver to stop at Meijer.
He came back in the cab with a can of compressed air, according to the report. The cab driver witnessed him inhaling the fumes and stopped the vehicle, calling police.
Police responded at 1:02 p.m. May 20 to a Speedway at 134 E. Michigan Ave. They found the man drooling and convulsing in the back seat of the cab. When officers approached him, he refused to give up the can and repeatedly took long inhalations of the fumes, according to the report.
An officer attempted to subdue him by pressing a pressure point, but the man did not appear to feel pain, according to the report. He eventually was subdued when a second officer arrived on scene and got the can away from him.
The man was once again taken to University of Michigan Hospital and the report stated there was concern from medical officials that the incident was a suicide attempt. A warrant will be pursued against the man for assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer.
Lupi said people who are high on inhalants often give the impression they are drunk. They also sweat and have slurred speech he said. Items that are commonly used as a drug are hair spray, paint cans, gasoline, glues, dust remover, correction fluid and markers, he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.