Last week I posited that crazy naked man incidents are on the rise across the nation, citing a number of news stories from just the past month to support my claim.
Some people in the comment section were skeptical that the dozen or so incidents that I cited represented anything out of the ordinary.
In a country of 323 million, these bizarre episodes are but a drop in the bucket, one person noted. Besides, we’ve always had demented naked guys running around the country behaving outlandishly and threatening people, the argument goes. We’re just seeing more about it now because the mass media is reporting on it more.
Well, I’m not so sure about that. While it’s not unusual to see the occasional story about someone getting arrested for public nudity, I have never seen this many nudies in the news all at once. It feels similar to the Evil Clown phenomenon of 2016 — but not quite the same because the clown epidemic was mostly about (misguided) young people doing pranks. The naked man incidents usually involve substance abuse or severe psychiatric issues and are in some ways even more disturbing than the clown incidents.
There has already been one fatality since I started tracking the phenomenon.
Last Wednesday, a naked man on a crane plummeted seven stories to his death after a police standoff that lasted for hours. The suspected car thief had climbed the crane and shed his clothes after leading police on a wild chase, CBS News reported.
The man spent about three hours on the crane and eventually took off all his clothes, at around 8.p.m.
During the standoff, the man was seen walking around, waving, twitching and even doing calisthenics on the narrow ledge of the crane. A SWAT team eventually approached the man and tried to coax him down to safety.
At about 9:30 p.m., the man either fell or jumped to his death, landing on a ship, police said.
This past week has seen a continuation of the trend of naked and disturbed men behaving badly in public.
Starting with the tamest incidents, here are the latest nudies in the news.
OCONEE, S.C .(WSPA) – Naked man found walking on highway in Oconee Co.
Deputies say a naked man was found walking in the middle of Highway 123 in Oconee County, Friday night.
According to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, 911 dispatchers received numerous calls about a naked man walking in the road near Old Clemson Highway.
The story doesn’t mention whether drugs or alcohol were involved but does mention that the man was taken to Oconee Memorial Hospital.
CBS8.com: Naked man arrested after running down I-15:
Naked man arrested after running down I-15. https://t.co/0a6CdfhjSW pic.twitter.com/XNkKu1rImU
— CBS News 8 (@CBS8) August 28, 2016
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) – A man is in custody Saturday after stripping off all of his clothes and running down freeway lanes in Rancho Bernardo.
California Highway Patrol began receiving numerous calls of a naked man running down the I-15 Freeway around 1:30 Saturday afternoon.
The man was eventually detained and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, according to police.
K105: Leitchfield man arrested after running naked through carport on Memory Lane:
That’s Leitchfield, Kentucky.
Leitchfield man arrested after running naked through carport on Memory Lane https://t.co/caKkrH1hEz
— K105 Radio (@k105radio) August 16, 2017
On Monday morning at 6:42, the Leitchfield Police Department responded to Memory Lane on the report of a naked man running through a carport.
Police responded to the scene and located 46-year-old Michael Finn, of Leitchfield, who had been running naked through the neighborhood. He was quickly arrested and charged with public intoxication-controlled substance (excludes alcohol) and indecent exposure.
KZRG: Naked man found peering at woman through storm grate:
This happened in Joplin, Mo., yesterday.
Joplin police have a man in custody after he was caught naked in the downtown drainage system Monday. According to a JPD Facebook post, a citizen reported seeing the man looking up a her from inside a drain grate on the 500 block of South Main Street. Police located and arrested a 57-year-old Gary Hedges of Joplin on a charge of sexual misconduct. News Talk KZRG is reaching out for more information.
SanAngeloLive: Naked man arrested at Taco Bell:
SAN ANGELO, TX — Public intoxication and possession of controlled substances lead the police arrest blotter for Thursday. 25-year-old James Paul Sanchez was arrested and charged with public intoxication. San Angelo Police Officers responded to a call of an unwanted subject at the Taco Bell restaurant at 19th St. and N. Bryant. They found Sanchez “unclothed and unconscious in the women’s restroom.”
An “unclothed and unconscious” man in the lady’s room. Yeah, I guess that qualifies as “unwanted.”
The Gleaner: HCSO: Naked man found tied up on road:
Dateline Monday:
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an unusual situation where a naked man was found tied up on the road in the area of Kentucky 136 near the river bottoms.
Chief Deputy David Crafton said the man was located shortly after 6 a.m.
Huh. No other details were provided other than the man was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Havre Daily News: Drunk, naked man arrested:
Robert Lee Lavalley of Havre, 53, was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after a First Street Northeast caller reported Saturday at 6:22 p.m. that a drunk, naked man was outside again.
NY Daily News: Naked man straddling hose threatens to leap from West Village rooftop:
A ranting, naked man clinging to a garden hose climbed onto the roof of an West Village building and threatened to jump, cops said.
The 36-year-old Bronx man hiked up to the roof of a school on Bleecker St. on Sixth Ave. shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday and began peeling off his clothes when police arrived, authorities said.
Dressed in nothing but a ball cap and sneakers, and waving a long green garden hose between his legs, the man yelled at officers below.
Cops were able to coax the man off the ledge, and he was taken to Beth Israel Hospital for psychiatric treatment. Definitely hit the link to see the image of the naked man up on a ledge straddling a hose.
PennLive: Drunken, naked man with a gun charged with ethnic intimidation, assault: Police
A Virginia man is facing a lengthy list of charges after state police in Dauphin County said he was found naked and intoxicated at a truck stop along Interstate 81 on Monday afternoon.
But that’s just the beginning of the problems caused by Craig Troccia, 54, of Roanoke, state police said.
Troccia was sitting in his truck at the Flying J along the 7000 block of Linglestown Road in West Hanover Township at about 4:30 p.m. when two men saw him smash the windshield of his vehicle then pour a cup filled with urine on the interior, police said.
Troccia then yelled at a black man that “he should go back to Africa” and then exposed his genitals to the man and everyone else in the parking lot, police said.
But Troccia still wasn’t done racking up the criminal charges.
He then pointed a gun at the man and told him that he would ‘kill him and everyone else at the Flying J,” police said. Troccia then pointed the gun at a second man and threatened to kill him too, police said.
Then troopers arrived at the scene and Troccia continued threatening people.
“I’ll (expletive) kill both of you for calling the police,” Troccia shouted, police said.
Troccia then threatened the trooper who transported him from scene, as well as members of the trooper’s family, police said.
Troccia was charged with 34 criminal counts “including ethnic intimidation, aggravated assault, indecent exposure, open lewdness, public drunkenness, simple assault, terroristic threats, intimidation of a witness, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and harassment.”
WKRG: Naked man caught masturbating at Florida beach, deputies say:
I have no idea whether drugs were involved or this guy was just a garden-variety perv — but wow, get a load of this:
PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. (WKRG) — A 31-year-old man was arrested at Pensacola Beach for masturbating in public, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Bobby Gene Eidson III was caught naked in the water behind the giant shell at the Pensacola Beach boardwalk on Quietwater Beach Road early Sunday morning, deputies said.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies arrived on the scene after receiving reports of a white male, completely nude and masturbating standing up in the water behind the shell. They were also informed that Eidson had noticed several people watching him on the back dock of Capt’n Fun Bar as he looked at them and waved with both hands, swinging his penis around.
When deputies arrived, Eidson was swimming in the water on his back, such that his genitals could clearly be seen from the top of the walking pier. Deputies asked him to get out of the water and put some clothes on, to which he complied. When asked why he was being talked to by law enforcement, he said: “I’m not too sure,” according to authorities.
A witness said that when he went out to the back deck of Capt’n Fun, he clearly noticed Eidson swinging his penis around in a circular motion. He also said he witnessed him masturbating, completely naked, for approximately 15 minutes, deputies reported.
Another witness was out celebrating her birthday at Capt’n Fun when she was on the back deck smoking a cigarette when she observed Eidson swinging his penis around, deputies said. She also observed him kissing another male. The witness said that Eidson noticed her and waved back at her, playing with his penis in a masturbating motion. She then said she notified law enforcement immediately.
Speaking of pervs:
WKYT: Man arrested while walking around naked in school parking lot:
Yeah, nothing about this guy screams “pedophile” …
https://twitter.com/Breaking_NewsTN/status/899720567636594688
A man has been arrested in Laurel County after deputies say he was naked and walking around an elementary school while high on Drugs.
Laurel County Sheriff’s Department says 38-year-old Austin Johnson was arrested early Sunday morning. Deputies say he was located naked in the parking lot of Cold Hill Elementary School walking on the sidewalk.
Johnson told deputies that he had used methamphetamine earlier that day.
This subject was charged with public intoxication, controlled substances and indecent exposure in the second degree.
He is now lodged in the Laurel County Detention Center.
This one happened a couple of weeks ago, but I missed it last week:
Plymouth Patch: Naked man caught pumping gas in Canton:
“It’s not the first time he’s done this,” according to the report. “He said it helps him forget his problems.”
A naked man was caught at a gas station pump by Canton police early Sunday morning, according to police. Around 2:25 a.m., the 67-year-old filled up at the Marathon gas station at Michigan Avenue and Haggerty. A police officer spotted the man, who got into his vehicle when he saw the officer.
He was too late. The officer reached the man’s car where the 67-year-old had shorts on his lap and no shirt on.
Police said the man told the officer that he was sick and didn’t know how it happened, then said he couldn’t sleep, so decided to get gas.
Again — most of these stories are from just the past week.
Do I have your attention now?
If this trend continues into the fall, it could turn into an epidemic that could rival the Evil Clown Epidemic of 2016.
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