By Jonathon Benson

A Virginia Beach police officer who decided to go on a religious rampage with his taxpayer-issued firearm and badge, as well as a knife, is suing drug giant Abbott Laboratories over its antibiotic drug Biaxin, the generic version of which the cop claims caused him to shoot at and stab multiple firefighters whom he insanely believed at the time of his delusion to be demons trying to harm his friend.

The bizarre story comes from a legal filing picked up by Courthouse News Service, which details a case of alleged antibiotic-induced psychosis unlike anything you have probably ever heard of. Officer Bradley Colas, 24, from the Virginia Beach Police Department essentially went out of his mind after taking a generic version of Biaxin that was prescribed to him for a case of acute bronchitis.

According to the filing, Colas, who had no prior history of psychosis or any mental disorder, suddenly began to believe himself to possess special religious powers after taking his fourth dose of generic Biaxin. By the time he finished the full course of the drug, Colas reportedly set out on an imaginary religious mission that he believed at the time required him to battle demons to protect a friend who lives in Philadelphia.

“Late Saturday night and continuing into early Sunday morning, plaintiff’s paranoia and psychosis increased dramatically, as demonstrated by telephone calls and text messages to family and friends,” reads the legal complaint concerning what took place after Colas finished the drug protocol. “Among other manifestations of this, plaintiff became convinced that he was a ‘prophet.'”

Deranged cop taking pharmaceuticals targets ‘demons’ who were really just people

Worried that his friend in Philadelphia was not picking up her phone or responding to messages, a delusional Colas set out in his car to drive up to the woman, during which time he developed extreme paranoia about the drivers around him. Perceiving these other drivers to be a threat, Colas began jotting down notes and information about them, all the while sinking progressively further in his religious fantasy.

“While driving on the Eastern shore of Virginia on his way to Philadelphia, plaintiff felt like he had supernatural powers,” explains the filing, noting that Colas had his gun and badge with him during these events. “At times, plaintiff closed his eyes while driving because he felt that if he had enough faith, his car would stay on the road. When his car began careening off the road, plaintiff would open his eyes, correct his course, and repeated the process.”

Colas eventually crashed his car, resulting in emergency response teams and a firetruck arriving on the scene to help him. But he became increasingly paranoid, the result of so-called “antibiomania,” or antibiotic-induced lunacy, after seeing numbers on the firefighters’ helmets and on their firetruck that he thought at the time were evil. Perceiving them to be demons, Colas reportedly began discharging his firearm at the firefighters and stabbed two of them in his quest to destroy the perceived evil spirits.

Virginia State Police drop charges against Colas; he returns to work three weeks later

The firefighters eventually fled the scene, and Colas proceeded to walk in the direction of Philadelphia until Virginia State Police tracked him down and arrested him. These officers threw Colas to the ground, handcuffed him and arrested him, during which time he allegedly continued to explain his delusion as if it were real.

Colas was initially charged with attempted murder and malicious wounding of rescue workers. But after spending three months in jail, the state dropped its charges against Colas one day before his trial. Now, he is seeking remedy for punitive damages inflicted upon him by Abbott, which he says failed to issue a proper warning about Biaxin and its potential to induce psychosis.

Meanwhile, Colas was allowed to return to work just three weeks after state prosecutors dropped their charges against him.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.courthousenews.com

http://hamptonroads.com