Police: Streaker spotted in Fort Lauderdale was high on flakka
http://www.wsvn.com/story/28743303/police-streaker-spotted-in-fort-lauderdale-was-high-on-flakka
A South Florida man seen running naked through the streets of Fort Lauderdale was high on flakka, an increasingly popular street drug that is causing users to behave erratically, police said.
Thirty-four-year-old Matthew Kenney was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation Saturday evening following the incident that was caught on cell phone video. The footage captures Kenney, seen sporting a noticeable tan, sprinting down West Broward Boulevard wearing nothing but his sneakers, right past two police cruisers. "This guy, buck naked, was running straight down Broward," said Jesse Grace, the witness who recorded the video.
Kenney, a Fort Lauderdale resident, later told officers he had just smoked flakka moments before streaking. He told police he was running from people who trying to kill him. "He was in fear that individuals were chasing him, that they had stolen his clothes," said Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Tracy Figone.
According to the arrest report, Kenney said he wanted a car to hit him, telling officers, "Because if I got hit by a car they would stop chasing me."
"He thought it would be better to be struck by a vehicle than to have these individuals catch him," said Figone.
Police said they had to subdue him and chase him for a while before taking him in custody. "The patrol officers attempted to detain him for his safety, and at that point, he ran from them," said Figone.
"It appeared to me that he was playing with them," said Grace, "like he was trying to get them to follow him."
Police were eventually able to take Kenney into custody. "They actually detained him in the 700 block of West Broward [Boulevard]," said Figone.
According to records, Kenney has been arrested three times since December on charges of disorderly conduct, causing a riot and possession of a controlled substance.
Kenney is not the first person to be caught on camera while high on flakka, a dirty drug that causes people to break out in violent fits and gives then delusions of superhuman strength. On Feb. 9, surveillance cameras rolled as James West tried to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Station at 1300 West Broward Blvd. "His power was so forceful that, when he pulled, you could see the doors shaking, and him throwing the rocks, that cracked the impact windows," said Figone.
In addition, police said, Shanard Neely was under the synthetic drug's hallucinatory effects when he was impaled by a gate while attempting to scale a 10-foot metal fence on March 22. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue worked to free Neely. "One of the rods ... went into his leg and exited in the rear," said a fire rescue official during a news conference.
Neely was taken to the hospital, where surgeons removed the metal spike.
Doctors at Broward Health Medical Center told 7News they have seen a rise in flakka usage. They said what makes the drug so dangerous is that it is mixed with so many ingredients, and users never know what they are ingesting or how their bodies will react to it, adding it could have permanent effects on the brain or the heart. "Their brains tell them that there's something going on where there may be nothing going on," said Dr. Nabil El Sanadi. "They have hallucinations, they may think that people are after them."
Kenney remains at the hospital and has been Baker Acted.
http://www.wsvn.com/story/28743303/police-streaker-spotted-in-fort-lauderdale-was-high-on-flakka
A South Florida man seen running naked through the streets of Fort Lauderdale was high on flakka, an increasingly popular street drug that is causing users to behave erratically, police said.
Thirty-four-year-old Matthew Kenney was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation Saturday evening following the incident that was caught on cell phone video. The footage captures Kenney, seen sporting a noticeable tan, sprinting down West Broward Boulevard wearing nothing but his sneakers, right past two police cruisers. "This guy, buck naked, was running straight down Broward," said Jesse Grace, the witness who recorded the video.
Kenney, a Fort Lauderdale resident, later told officers he had just smoked flakka moments before streaking. He told police he was running from people who trying to kill him. "He was in fear that individuals were chasing him, that they had stolen his clothes," said Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Tracy Figone.
According to the arrest report, Kenney said he wanted a car to hit him, telling officers, "Because if I got hit by a car they would stop chasing me."
"He thought it would be better to be struck by a vehicle than to have these individuals catch him," said Figone.
Police said they had to subdue him and chase him for a while before taking him in custody. "The patrol officers attempted to detain him for his safety, and at that point, he ran from them," said Figone.
"It appeared to me that he was playing with them," said Grace, "like he was trying to get them to follow him."
Police were eventually able to take Kenney into custody. "They actually detained him in the 700 block of West Broward [Boulevard]," said Figone.
According to records, Kenney has been arrested three times since December on charges of disorderly conduct, causing a riot and possession of a controlled substance.
Kenney is not the first person to be caught on camera while high on flakka, a dirty drug that causes people to break out in violent fits and gives then delusions of superhuman strength. On Feb. 9, surveillance cameras rolled as James West tried to break into the Fort Lauderdale Police Station at 1300 West Broward Blvd. "His power was so forceful that, when he pulled, you could see the doors shaking, and him throwing the rocks, that cracked the impact windows," said Figone.
In addition, police said, Shanard Neely was under the synthetic drug's hallucinatory effects when he was impaled by a gate while attempting to scale a 10-foot metal fence on March 22. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue worked to free Neely. "One of the rods ... went into his leg and exited in the rear," said a fire rescue official during a news conference.
Neely was taken to the hospital, where surgeons removed the metal spike.
Doctors at Broward Health Medical Center told 7News they have seen a rise in flakka usage. They said what makes the drug so dangerous is that it is mixed with so many ingredients, and users never know what they are ingesting or how their bodies will react to it, adding it could have permanent effects on the brain or the heart. "Their brains tell them that there's something going on where there may be nothing going on," said Dr. Nabil El Sanadi. "They have hallucinations, they may think that people are after them."
Kenney remains at the hospital and has been Baker Acted.
