Police Warning of Flakka ‘Zombies’

Police are are raising awareness after an encounter with a man on the street drug Flakka caused him to lash out uncontrollably like a zombie.

Flakka, alphapyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), is a street drug coming to us from China and is being called bath salts on steroids, which is scary when remembering what happened with that face eating event down in Florida. $3 to $5 a dose, flakka takes the form of crystals that can be snorted, injected, vaporized, or eaten, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, and it’s this ease of retrieval and use that is cause for concern.

The drug takes control of the user and sends them into violent uncontrollable fits as witnessed by 2 southern Illinois police officers last month. The event captured on their body cameras shows a naked man, allegedly high on Flakka, violently thrashing around his home, flipping over furniture, banging into walls, yelling, and avoiding all attempts by police to subdue him. They used stun guns to try to subdue the 51 year old, but by the time medical assistance arrived at the scene, the man had already overdosed and was beyond saving.

This video was like something I’ve never seen before,” says police chief William Southerd.

If it wasn’t for the body cameras I’d probably have two officers in jail right now. Even our crime scene guys came in and said I’ve got a room completely torn up with bruises all over [the deceased], and two officers. I wouldn’t know how to rule this.

Flakka use is especially high is Broward County, Florida where there were 477 reported cases in 2014 alone. Southerd raises concerns that the drug is more dangerous than meth because it is so easy to use and so cheap, and so new that law enforcement and medical science is having trouble keeping up.

It’s worse than heroin, meth, all that, says Southerd.

The reaction, the best way I can describe it is… the terms my officers used is that you’re dealing with a bunch of zombies. They’re just completely out of their mind.