Republican councilman caught smoking crack and fentanyl in his car: report

A city councilman in Cranston, Rhode Island who chaired the local Republican Party was arrested on Monday for drug possession after police found him smoking a mix of crack cocaine and fentanyl in his car, reportedThe Providence Journal this week.

Matthew Reilly, 41, a first-term council member, a licensed attorney and a youth soccer coach, was found by cops sitting in his car Monday, the Journal reported.

"The police found Reilly around 11:30 a.m. in a parked SUV after a passerby told a patrolman that a man was possibly choking in a parking lot," according to the report.

"'He appeared to be sleeping or unconscious while having difficulty breathing/choking,' patrolman Luis A. Collado wrote in a police report. 'I opened the door and had to shake him in order for him to wake up. At that point I noticed that he had a glass pipe that's typically used to smoke crack cocaine from in his hand and a lighter.'"

According to the report, Reilly told Collado that he was just sleeping. Collado then called in emergency personnel to evaluate him, who concluded he had not overdosed and was stable.

Reilly has resigned his position as chair of the Cranston Republican Party, according to ABC6. "My hope is Matt will get whatever care and attention he needs for his own well-being,” Mayor Kenneth Hopkins told the station.

Fentanyl and similar synthetic opioids have reached crisis levels around the country, often mixed into other street drugs. Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized enough of the drug to kill every single American.