Police Officers Overcome by PCP Fumes

Two Hawthorne police officers were briefly hospitalized for chemical poisoning early Saturday when they were overcome by fumes while arresting a man whose truck allegedly contained several 55-gallon containers of PCP.

Investigators said the drugs had a street value of $6.5 million.

The officers, whose names were not released, were on patrol at 116th Street and Doty Avenue about 4 a.m. when they saw a rented U-Haul truck pull out of a Century Freeway construction area, said Hawthorne Sgt. Henry Mashack. Suspecting that the driver was trying to steal construction equipment, the officers pulled over the truck and looked inside, Mashack said.

Suddenly overcome by the smell of petroleum, which is frequently associated with the manufacture of PCP, the officers called the Hawthorne Fire Department, the hazardous materials team and narcotics detectives, Mashack said.

Several residents were evacuated until detectives determined the substance was PCP, Mashack said. Residents were allowed to return to their homes about 9 a.m., Mashack said.

The officers, who were starting to act “real goofy,” were taken to Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center, Mashack said. When they arrived, “they couldn’t even write their names. They were writing in circles,” Mashack said. The officers were treated and released.

William Cornelius Thomas, 29, of Inglewood was booked on suspicion of possessing PCP for sale and manufacture. He was being held without bail at Hawthorne jail.