QNS. COPS’ BAD DRUG WHIFF
Seven cops were rushed to the hospital early Friday after inhaling fumes at an apartment filled with powdered heroin in Rego Park, Queens.
The officers, who suffered lightheadedness and nausea, were in stable condition at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, police said.
The cops had entered the second-floor apartment at 63-84 Saunders St. at about 2 a.m. in response to a noise complaint, NYPD Assistant Chief Juanita Holmes said.
“Upon their response, they encountered an irra- tional man,” Holmes said.
The 39-year-old man, whose identity was not released, had similar symptoms to those of the stricken officers — though far more severe, according to Holmes.
He appeared to be “in a catatonic state” and was given the heroin OD drug naxalone before being taken to Elmhurst Hospital, Holmes said.
“We did find an unknown amount of cash and a white substance that tested positive for heroin,” Holmes added.
Police released a photo of a bare white mattress covered in a mound of rubber- banded stacks of $20, $50 and $100 bills. Drugs were found scattered on the floor, according to lawenforcement sources.
No one else at the apartment building fell ill from the fumes, Holmes said.
Still, “there was an odor” that other residents of the floor detected, she added.
The arrest rattled neighbors in the quiet doorman building.
“That’s crazy! Heroin is a bad drug,” said neighbor Melana Abramov, 23, who lives there with her 2-yearold son and her husband.
“It’s a pretty safe neighborhood. We always have a doorman here,” she said. “That’s scary — that’s so shocking that it happened in our building.”
Elaine Rosa, who lives across the street, recalled waking up before dawn to the flashing lights of police and fire vehicles.
“There were about 15 to 20 firemen and three ambulances,” she said.
“I hope they are OK,” she added of the sick cops. “We need them.”
The criminal charges pending against the suspect were not immediately released.
Additional reporting by Leonica Valentine and Stephanie Pagones