(Updated at 3:40 p.m. on 12/23/21) A man attending a conference on drug policy reform stripped naked, started yelling incoherently and was ultimately tased by police during a bad trip Saturday night in Crystal City.
Police say they were called to the intersection of Crystal Drive and 18th Street around midnight Saturday night, for a report of a man standing in the roadway and acting erratically.
Upon arriving on scene, police saw 29-year-old Hector [Redacted] in a flower bed, waving his arms in the air, said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. [Redacted] was completely nude and sweating profusely despite the chilly temperatures, Sternbeck said.
According to police, [Redacted] ran at the first responding officer and slammed his hands on the hood of his police cruiser, all while screaming incoherently. The officer used a Taser to subdue the man and called for backup to help take him in custody.
Medics responded and sedated [Redacted] — who was under the influence of bath salts, according to a field toxicology test — to keep him from harming himself by continuing to writhe on the pavement, Sternbeck said. He was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for observation, where he continued to hallucinate and talk incoherently, according to Sternbeck.
[Redacted], a Mexican citizen, reportedly told police that he had traveled to the area for the 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, which was being held in Crystal City. The conference focused in part on advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
[Redacted] was charged with disorderly conduct and held on a $10,000 bond. He remains in custody and his passport has been surrendered, said Sternbeck.