Democrat Arrested Trying To Swallow Crack During Police Stop

Ohio Democratic congressional candidate Brian Poindexter is facing scrutiny over a decades-old arrest, including allegations that he swallowed suspected crack cocaine during a police stop and slapped a man in the face at a baseball game, according to newly uncovered police records.

Poindexter, a Brook Park city councilman and former union leader, is challenging embattled Republican Rep. Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. The Washington Free Beacon first reported the allegations.

In January 1998, Cleveland police approached Poindexter, then 18, at a street corner known for illicit drug activity, according to a police report.

Poindexter allegedly removed “some small objects from his coat pocket,” put them in his mouth, and attempted to swallow them after officers ordered him to spit them out, triggering a physical struggle.

“We fell to the ground at which time I recovered the above rock of susp. crack cocaine from the ground near his mouth,” an officer wrote in the report. “We then placed the A/M under arrest and read him his rights.”

It is unclear whether Poindexter was ultimately prosecuted or whether the substance was tested.

“Any implication that Brian has used hard drugs is false,” a Poindexter campaign spokesman told the Free Beacon. “Any suggestion otherwise is bullsh*t.”

Fifteen years later, in 2013, Poindexter was arrested for assault following an encounter with Bob Rzepka at a Cleveland Indians baseball game after the man offered to buy him a hot dog. 

Rzepka, now 55, told the Free Beacon that he was attending the game with his son on “Dollar Dog Day” when they watched Poindexter swallow a “whole freaking hot dog” in one bite.

“He opened up one of the dollar dogs, and he shoved that whole thing in his mouth in one fell swoop, and just swallowed it. Bread, hot dog, everything,” Rzepka said. “Me and my son both witnessed it. We looked at each other. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t! Did you see that?’”

Rzepka said he then approached Poindexter and offered to buy him another hot dog if he would repeat the stunt while Rzepka recorded it. Poindexter responded by asking whether Rzepka was “trying to insinuate something.”

“No, man. I just think it’s crazy that you just shoved that freaking hot dog down your throat without even taking a bite of it,” Rzepka recalled telling him.

“And then he just—wham—just smacked me right across the f*cking face,” Rzepka claimed.

Police removed Poindexter from the stadium and arrested him for assault, according to the Free Beacon. Rzepka declined to pursue charges, and the ultimate disposition of the case is unclear.

“The guy who slapped me at a baseball game is running for Congress?” Rzepka said. “I wouldn’t want him representing me.”

The revelations add another layer of controversy to a closely watched race already dominated by allegations involving Rep. Miller.

Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), has accused the congressman of holding a gun to her head, throwing hot water at her, and fracturing their daughter’s collarbone, The Daily Wire previously reported.

Miller has denied the allegations and accused his ex-wife of having mental health problems amid a contentious child custody battle.

Seeking to capitalize on the controversy, Poindexter has called Miller “erratic” and pitched himself as the more level-headed alternative.

“I’m someone who’s careful with my words. I speak from my heart,” Poindexter said in August.

The Cook Political Report has rated the Trump-won district a toss-up.