Police in Cranston, Rhode Island, arrested a city councilman this week and charged him with drug possession after an officer found him asleep in his car with a crack pipe and a lighter in his hand.
The officer’s bodycam captured the incident with Matthew Reilly on May 15. Reilly can be seen with his mouth open and his head back as the officer approaches.
“I can’t really let you go. You were literally choking in your sleep. Somebody flagged me down,” the officer tells Reilly.
Reilly responded, “I have sleep apnea, I’m sorry.”
But the officer told Reilly he saw the crack pipe and lighter in his hand. Reilly admitted he’d struggled with addiction in the past and recently relapsed.
The body camera video runs for nearly an hour as EMTs check out Reilly and other officers arrive to test the substances found in the vehicle. The white, rock-like substance tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl.
An officer also found a Chore Boy scrub pad in the glove compartment. Chore Boy contains copper and metal and is commonly used to make crack pipes.
A sergeant told Reilly he needed to get into a drug treatment program.
Reilly said he had just started using drugs again and had bought the drugs he was using the day before.
The video was recorded on May 15.
“You’re not the Matt Reilly we know. Your health and well-being is more important than any political career,” the sergeant told Reilly.
Reilly was also concerned about the media finding out about his arrest. The officers told him arrest records are public.
Reilly was taken to jail, processed and released.
Reilly has entered rehab and resigned as councilman, submitting a one-line letter published by NBC’s affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island WJAR.
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