Fumes sicken NYPD cops in Queens

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Several NYPD officers were taken to a hospital after being sickened inside a Queens apartment building Friday morning.

Police received a noise complaint call around 2 a.m. After entering a fifth-floor apartment on Saunders Street and 63rd Drive in Rego Park, the officers were exposed to an unknown substance, according to Assistant Chief Juanita Holmes, the commander of Patrol Borough Queens North.

The cops found a 39-year-old man under the influence of drugs. Holmes said the man was "irrational" and officers took him into custody.

Police believe the suspect was smoking heroin or burning it in an effort to destroy it. Those fumes sickened the officers, causing nausea and tingling in their fingers, the department said.

Holmes said the NYPD received a search warrant for the apartment and found the cash and a white substance that tested positive for heroin. The NYPD released a picture of the suspect's bed, which shows hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Fortunately, the fumes didn't sicken anyone else. All of the officers were treated and released.

The suspect was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Neighbors told Fox 5 that emergency response was massive. They're just thankful that there wasn't an explosion or something even worse.