Naked man on 12 Mile wrestled into police custody

The next full moon isn't until Tuesday, but don't tell that to Madison Heights police who got into a scuffle with a naked man found running along 12 Mile Tuesday afternoon.

The shields versus skins wrestling match came after several motorists reported that the easy-to-spot suspect was loping curbside along westbound 12 Mile at about 1:45 p.m.

"He was barefoot and completely naked, walking just west of Stephenson Highway," said Det. Sgt. Marc Zupic.

"He didn't know where he was or how he got there. It was pretty apparent that he had some mental impairment: either he wasn't taking his meds or has psychological problems and needs to be on medication."

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature at the time was a brisk 27 degrees that tag-teamed with 13 mph winds, producing a wind chill of about 14 degrees.

The first officer to arrive on scene tried to question the man but with little success.

"He really wasn't responding to his initial questions," Zupic said.

"But one thing he did say was 'I need to get where the sun is at.'"

When the officer tried to ease him into the patrol car, he pulled away and ran west on 12 Mile.

"Then he turned around and assumed a fighting stance," Zupic said.

"The officer wrestled him to the ground. Within seconds several other cars pulled up to help. He was put into the back of the car without any injuries to him or our officers."

According to Zupic the man was calm, but rambling, when he answering questions.

"Most of the statements didn't make any sense," Zupic said.

"Some ramblings about God and other things, but he also said he had smoked some weed."

The suspect did share his first and last name with officers who quickly determined he lived in Troy and was 25 years old.

"It turned out that other departments had previous contacts with him," Zupic said.

"Not for running around naked, but for mental problem calls."

The Troy man was transported to St. John Oakland Hospital where he was admitted for psychiatric evaluation.

The rest of the day was kind of boring, according to Zupic.

"It's never fun to wrestle a naked man," Zupic said.

"And we never did find his clothes."

tgreenwood@detroitnews.com

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