LARGO, Fla. – Multiple responding officers and medics are hospitalized after a massive hazmat scene began unfolding at a Largo apartment complex near Ulmerton Road.
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Largo emergency response
The backstory:
Largo Police Chief Mike Loux said during a late news conference that his officers responded to a call for service just after 6 p.m. on Thursday. He said a woman called about her boyfriend who was acting irrational after smoking marijuana.
Three officers responded to the Oasis at Bayside apartment complex. They knocked on the front door to the apartment they were called to and the woman opened the door. Behind her was a man who was completely naked, identified by police as Richard Charles.
Officers got the woman out of the apartment complex, and got into an altercation with the man before eventually being able to take him into custody.
First responders hospitalized
What we know:
However, Loux said after Charles was in custody, one of the officers started to feel the effects of narcotics and passed out. The officer was given narcan, but a medic who also was brought in started feeling those same effects.
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The chief said officers and a medic also taking Charles to the hospital fell ill as well. The woman inside the apartment initially did not experience symptoms.
First responders immediately began decontaminating officers involved in this response. They also did air quality control checks, which helped them narrow the source down to the apartment Charles was in.
In total, Loux said 14 people — 13 first responders and the suspect — were exposed and treated. Of those, five were hospitalized, the chief said.
Unknown narcotic exposure
What we don’t know:
It’s not immediately clear what kind of narcotic the police, medics and Charles were exposed to. Loux said the indication is that the marijuana Charles was smoking was laced, but that would be determined later.
It’s also unknown what charges Charles could face after the incident.
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