Police officers, suspects become ill during meth bust
UPDATE: December 22, 2014 10:25 a.m.
Police are continuing to investigate a meth lab that was found in an apartment that sent four people to the hospital.
Ishpeming Police Chief Dan Willey said two suspects, a man and a woman, left Bell Hospital this weekend after receiving treatment. Police found the woman and arrested her on an unrelated warrant. Police have not interviewed the man yet, but do not consider him to be on the run or a suspect at large.
The two police officers that were also taken to the hospital have been released.
ISHPEMING — An active meth lab has left several people hurt, including Upper Peninsula law enforcement officers who were overcome by meth manufacturing fumes while rescuing two suspects who were ill in a city apartment.
At least two Ishpeming Police officers have been injured along with two others in an early morning incident that turned into an active meth lab. Shortly before 1 a.m., Ishpeming Police officers responded to a report of a possible meth lab in an apartment complex located at 655 Maurice St.
According to an Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) press release, Ishpeming Police officers entered a common area of the apartment complex and observed components related to the manufacturing process of meth.
Officers looked through the window of one of the apartment units and observed an unresponsive woman lying on the floor. They entered it to check on her and while in the residence the officers’ eyes and throat became irritated. They suffered disorientation, nausea and felt ill.
The officers safely removed an unresponsive woman and a man, who was in another room in the apartment.
The suspects in the residence and the officers sought treatment at U.P. Health System Bell for their exposure to harmful gases related to the manufacture of meth. UPSET detectives removed all of the meth-making components along with hazardous waste from the active meth lab.
Photos by ABC 10 – CW 5 News Director Greg Peterson:
