Thirsty Guy

Sometime after 4 a.m. on August 15, neighbors were awakened by loud voices outside a house on Upas Street that had hosted a party the night before. One man repeatedly told a second man to vacate the premises, and the second man refused.

After a lull, neighbors were awakened again at about sunrise, this time by loud pounding. The second man slowly banged on the house, demanding to be let in and cursing about being locked out. Occasionally, he tried a different tactic. “I just want a glass of water,” he pleaded. “Leave it outside the door for me!”

Sometime after 6 a.m., a half dozen police cars arrived on the scene. The man, assuming a joyfully defiant tone not unlike that of the possessed teenager in The Exorcist, shouted that he would not cooperate with the officers or the medical personnel who arrived thereafter. After several minutes, however, the man agreed to cooperate in exchange for a glass of water.

Officers used the opportunity to cuff the man’s hands behind his back and put him on a stretcher, facedown. The man was covered in blood from head to toe and had a substantial forehead wound that seemed self-inflicted, perhaps from all the banging.

“Is that the most blood you’ve ever seen?” the man asked. “I’ve seen a lot more blood than that,” an officer said. The man was placed on an ambulance that departed for Scipps Mercy Hospital.