Bath Salts = Naked Rage

Tools

by Fox Charlotte

Story Created: Aug 23, 2011 at 11:19 PM EDT

Story Updated: Aug 23, 2011 at 11:19 PM EDT

CHESTERFIELD, S.C. - Dash cam video shows what law enforcement in Chesterfield County calls a growing problem.  What starts as a traffic stop quickly turns into something else when Deputy Lee Lewis asks the driver to exit his U-Haul.  Lewis says, "He gets outta the truck and he has no clothes on whatsoever except for a pair of shoes."

The nudity is Lewis's first clue. What happens next will indicate, he says, that the man is high on "bath salts," a white powdery substance that sells legally in South Carolina for about $30.

Lewis puts the guy in the back of his cruiser. He says the man tries to smash the windows.  Lewis tries to handcuff the man.  He says the guy leaps into the front seat of the cruiser and tries to take off and he also tries to grab Lewis's assault rifle.

Lewis says, "At that point, I did Tase him, he looked at me, grabbed the prongs and pulled them out.  His exact words were 'I'm gonna end you.'"

Backup arrives in the form of a Pageland police officer, who breaks his hand in the confrontation.

Three Tasers and five stun guns later, the man, who Lewis says is about 180 pounds, is subdued.  "The nature of the drug is that these people turn into almost superhuman type people."

And that's why Chesterfield County is working to ban the substance before someone using it dies or an officer. "It's just overwhelming.  It's hard to believe we had just a few incidents a few months ago and now we're up to 9 and 10 in the last three weeks.  It's an everyday problem," says Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker.

He sent out a letter Tuesday reminding officers to be safe when responding to these calls.  Parker is calling on state lawmakers to ban "bath salts" and he is asking local police chiefs, like Pageland's Larry Brown, for their support.

Brown, who's already asked some stores to stop selling the salts, explains why users often get naked.  "They say the ingredients in the bath salt makes your body real hot inside, your burning inside out. you try to get to water or anything to cool you down," he says.

No one knows exactly what chemicals are in the so called "bath salts."  In June, North Carolina  banned a key ingredient in the synthetic drug, making it illegal, but it's still a problem.  Gastonia Police recently reminded its officers of how to safely approach people who are on the drug.
 

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