He huffed air freshener and then rear-ended cop car at Sea-Tac, police say

A man is being investigated for allegedly huffing air freshener and then hitting a Port of Seattle Police vehicle.

On May 24, police said, officers were at the departures area of Sea-Tac Airport when the man rear-ended the police vehicle, which had its rear red and blue emergency lights flashing.

The man hit the police vehicle driving about 2 or 3 miles per hour, police said.

Officers frisked him after they said he grabbed his passport out of an officer’s hand during the initial investigation.

“While frisking for weapons, a can of Glade air freshener was found in (the man’s) front left side pants pocket,” police wrote in a search warrant affidavit. “(The man) had white discharge coming out of his eyes.”

Police asked whether he’d been huffing the air freshener, and demonstrated how one might huff inhalants.

“Oh, yeah, a lot,” he allegedly replied.

Inhalants can include aerosol sprays, solvents and gases. People who huff air freshener do so for the fumes. In November 2003, a 12-year-old girl was found dead with a can of air freshener in her hand, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

The man displayed erratic behavior and stumbled when asked to sit down, police said. He would not follow commands or bend his knees to sit down in a police booking room.

“Once (he) was placed in a holding cell, he removed his pants and began kicking the door,” police wrote, adding that he yelled a sexual threat at several male officers.

The man also refused to provide a sample of his breath.

The man, who is not being named because he has not been charged, is not on the King County Jail roster, and it’s unclear whether he remains in custody.

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 12:03 PM with the headline "He huffed air freshener and then rear-ended cop car at Sea-Tac, police say."