Grosse Pointe Woods Police Subdue Naked Man with Taser on Mack Avenue

A 29-year-old Livonia man subdued by Taser on Monday by a Grosse Pointe Woods public safety officer blames his erratic behavior of stripping himself of his clothing and darting in and out of traffic on his usage of methamphetamine, which caused him to have an uncomfortable high in which he was "paranoid and out of his mind."

The officer employed the Taser only after not being able to stop the man from darting in and out of traffic and other officers arrived to attempt to subdue him. The man flagged down an officer and began running in and out of traffic, eventually taking off his clothing and continuing to run in and out of traffic naked, according to a report.

The man's actions were noticed by many passing motorists and neighboring residents, some of whom even took photographs.

The man flagged down a public safety officer shortly before 6 p.m. near Fleetwood and Mack avenues as the officer was leaving a dumpster fire at . The man, who was disheveled in appearance and seemed upset, told the officer someone was trying to get him and he wanted the officer to stop them, according to a report.

Then he began darting in and out of the streets in the path of motorists and never explained further to the officer to what he was referring. Another officer was called to the scene in an attempt to help the first officer capture the man.

While running in and out of traffic, the man threw his keys, driver's license and a credit card at the officer and a resident found and turned in his cell phone. The cell phone was found in the field at .

Eventually an officer used a Taser to subdue the man, who fell to the ground. An EMS was called to the scene and the man was taken to St. John's Hospital, where officers were told he had been released from the hospital earlier the same day following a methamphetamine overdose Sunday.

The man was treated at the hospital and released. Medical personnel had to remove one of the Taser probes from his back and check out scratches to his forehead, according to a report.

Officers interviewed the man early Tuesday to discover he was high on meth and was seeking help from the officer, Detective Sgt. Ray Yonkowski said. He recognized that he was paranoid and did not like the feeling of the high from the meth, which is why he approached the officer, Yonkowski said.

The man swore to officers he would never use meth again because he did not like the experience, Yonkowski said.

The case will be reviewed by prosecutors but Yonkowski said it isn't likely to merit significant charges. At most, it would likely be a disorderly conduct charge, he said.

For questions on the police blotter, email sara.martin@patch.com.