REVEALED: Scaremongering NYPD video of psychotic naked New Yorker high on 'weaponized marijuana' was actually of Iowa man high on PCP in 2002 

  • Police issued a public warning over use of the synthetic marijuana 'K2'
  • Released two videos showing two crazed users of the drug, both naked 
  • But the clips are actually from TV show COPS in Des Moines, Iowa, in 2002
  • And the men in the video had taken psychotic drug PCP - not K2   
  • NYPD spokesman insists they did not say they were on K2 or in New York

By Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com and James Dunn For Mailonline

Published: 20:07 EST, 5 August 2015 | Updated: 01:16 EST, 6 August 2015

The NYPD released a 2002 video of a man on the psychotic drug PCP in Iowa and claimed it was recent footage of a New Yorker under the influence of synthetic marijuana.

The clip shows a naked man screaming wildly, squatting in the street, and scrambling up a fence, defying Taser guns with 'super human strength'.

It was played during a press conference on Tuesday as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton issued an 'urgent' warning that 'weaponized marijuana' - or K2 - is a growing concern for New York officers.

But it has since emerged the scaremongering clip is 12 years old, filmed in Des Moines for the TV show COPS, and depicts a man on PCP, not K2. 

Scroll down for video 

Caught on camera: The NYPD released two shocking videos showing the effects of the drug K2 on two users, both of whom were wondering the streets naked

Caught on camera: The NYPD released two shocking videos showing the effects of the drug K2 on two users, both of whom were wondering the streets naked

Violent: One user punched through a wooden fence and before battling cops, who were forced to wrestle with the naked man as he fought officers

Violent: One user punched through a wooden fence and before battling cops, who were forced to wrestle with the naked man as he fought officers

Primitive: Another shows a man squatting naked in the road and slapping the floor while roaring at oncoming traffic like an animal

Primitive: Another shows a man squatting naked in the road and slapping the floor while roaring at oncoming traffic like an animal

K2, which can be bought online for as little as $5 for 100 grams, is a blend of herbs and some chemicals which intensifies the effects of marijuana. PCP is entirely chemical and induces intensely psychotic reactions. 

The full video aired on November 1, 2003, in COPS Season 16 Episode 5, titled 'Naked COPS 2'. It has been on YouTube since 2006. 

The officer who jumps on the man's back in the video even gave an interview to the Des Moines Register in 2009 describing how she 'had to jump on the back of a naked man high on PCP.'

However, on Tuesday Bill Bratton played the clip for reporters and said: 'These individuals, many of them under the influence of this drug, are totally crazy.' 

A spokesman for the NYPD told Gothamist the video was merely 'shown to depict the type of behavior sometimes associated with "excited delirium syndrome"'. 

They added that it was 'never, ever said that it was K2 that the people were on' - but maintained that reactions to K2 are similar. 

In the video one man punches through a wooden fence before battling cops, who were forced to wrestle with the naked man to the ground.

He's then sprayed with mace yet still manages to run away and jump a fence before police catch him. 

Another shows a man squatting naked in the road and slapping the floor while roaring at oncoming traffic like an animal. 

After the video played, Bratton gave a speech to reporters saying that K2 users seem to be stronger than normal and the fact that they are often naked makes them even more difficult to arrest.

He went on to describe how officers are advised to immediately call for backup and medical assistance if confronted with K2 users. 

He did not make a distinction between his words and the video. 

Dangerous: The drug appears to give users super-human strength and police say it is sweeping NYC

Dangerous: The drug appears to give users super-human strength and police say it is sweeping NYC

Solnd online: It costs as little as $5 a bag and the drug, marketed as incense, is legal, although it is against the health code to sell it over the counter

Solnd online: It costs as little as $5 a bag and the drug, marketed as incense, is legal, although it is against the health code to sell it over the counter

It costs as little as $5 a bag and the drug, marketed as incense, is legal, although it is against the health code to sell it over the counter.

However, a number of bodegas are believed to be selling it, sometimes for as little as $1 for a large stick.

Chief of patrol Carlos Gomez said cops have visited 18 locations and issued 40 criminal court summonses to stores selling the drug this summer. The NYPD confiscated 10,900 packages of K2

Various forms of the drug can also be bought online, sometimes for as little as $3.20 a gram, advertising it will be sent 'discretely'.

And while it claims to be incense, a site selling the goods includes testimonials from users claiming it gets you 'high' and boasting that it only took a small hit to get one 'in the right frame of mind'. 

New York officials said the drug is popular in East Harlem, Central Brooklyn and parts of the Bronx.

Gomez added that it puts users under 'medical distress' and can send them into arrest. 

Comments (68)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now