Police: 4 Orono Officers Hospitalized For Exposure To Chemicals

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities said four police officers in Orono had to be hospitalized Tuesday morning after being exposed to hazardous chemicals while trying to get a man out of a car.

Police responded to a report of a man passed out in a car on the 3300 block of Shoreline Drive at about 9:15 p.m. Monday in Orono. When officers arrived, they found an man unresponsive inside a locked vehicle. Authorities made entry and the man immediately became combative, not wanting to get out of the car.

Officers noticed a strong chemical odor coming from inside the vehicle and when they removed the man from the car, they began feeling light-headed and had burning in their throats and eyes. The man and the four Orono Police officers were taken to North Memorial Medical Center. All of the officers were treated and released, while the man was still hospitalized as of Tuesday morning and being treated for chemical exposure.

The Long Lake Fire Department and a chemical assessment team from Hopkins responded to the chemical threat and had the area evacuated for a brief time. Orono Police said the incident is still under investigation.