Bay City Police Sgt. Gordon Cameron said the man – believed to be 26 or 27 – indicated to police he was having problems with his parents and walked to the church without so much as a pair of shoes on.
“He wanted to go to the church,” Cameron said. “I don’t know why.”
Police did not release the man’s name.
Cameron said the man, who lives on Bay City’s West Side, was Tasered by Officer Troy Sierras after he refused to cooperate. Police said the man made several derogatory remarks and cursed at them.
The man, still naked, was detained face down in the church parking lot at 11:45 a.m., surrounded by about seven Bay City police officers and firefighters. Blood dripped from his face, an injury sustained from falling on the pavement after being Tasered, police said.
A Taser is a weapon that fires barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporary paralysis.
After being lifted onto a stretcher and draped in a white blanket, the man was taken by paramedics to Bay Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.
At least two people called 911 to report the man roaming around the church, 607 E. South Union St. A funeral Mass was under way at the time of the incident.
The Rev. Craig Albrecht said he was “speechless,” but glad the man never made it inside the church because of the many children who were there at the time.
“It is a little odd,” he said.
Police said they were unsure of the man’s mental health or whether he was under the influence of any controlled substances. Cameron said the man likely would not be charged with a crime.
“You never want to see anybody like that,” he said. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
