Benson Police Chief Exposed to Toxic Fumes: 'I Was Gasping for Breath'

Benson, N.C. — Benson Police Chief Kenneth Edwards was recuperating Saturday after he said he endured the scariest moment of his life just several hours before.

Edwards was rushed to the hospital just after midnight after discovering a working mobile meth lab during a routine traffic stop. He immediately became sickened by the toxic fumes.

“Instantly, I lost my breath, my eyes were dry, my throat was dry, I was gasping for breath,” he said. “I don’t remember a whole lot after that.”

Edwards pulled over a red Chevy pickup truck at the intersection of Highway 50 and Benson Hardee Road around midnight Friday, police said. The driver, Kenneth Scott West, gave Edwards permission to search the car, authorities said.

While performing the search, Edwards was exposed to the toxic fumes.

“I had no idea what I was about to encounter,” he said. “It was a panicky situation. It was scary, as scared as I’ve ever been.”

Two other officers with Edwards at the traffic stop were not hurt and called in approximately a dozen units as backup.

Edwards was transported by ambulance to Betsy Johnson Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. He was still battling a cough and some other discomfort Saturday afternoon.

“My throat’s still hurting. My lungs are sore,” Edwards said.

West was arrested at the scene and charged with possession of meth, manufacturing meth and maintaining a vehicle manufacturing meth. Police said they might file additional charges against him.

West was being held in the Johnston County Jail under a $40,000 bond.

65 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 65 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

First let me start by qualifying myself, I’m one of Chief K O Edwards’s officers and have been in Law Enforcement for 6 years. Chief Edwards is doing fine as of 09/03/2007, still has a little bit of a soar throat. Some of you have stated that you thought he was making to much out of this, well as long as I have know him he has never exaggerated anything. Chief Edwards is also one of a very few Chiefs that works the normal 8-5 Mon-Fri, after 5 pm he stays around until at least 1 am on Thru-Sat nights, to assist his patrol officers in stopping street level crimes such as narcotics violations, gang violence and traffic violations, because he truly cares about the community he serves. Some of you have wondered about it taking 12 officers to secure the crime scene, this was due to it being a safety hazard to the public, we needed officers to block several streets, help get residents out of nearby houses and wait on the SBI meth lab clean up crew. Once every thing was handled, offic

supercop1022
September 3, 2007 11:59 p.m.

james004 - I am not sure what rock you have been living under but Higher income has nothing to do with the crime rate while it is true that people with higher educations are less likely to end up in prison it does not mean their spoiled step-child will not be out looking "coke" or whatever other party flavor they can get their hands on! If you seriously think crime and drugs would decrease you are sadly mistaken.. How many "rich" people do you know personally?? I can name 3 lawyers right off hand that make in excess of 250,000 a year that are well known coke addicts.. I can name a CEO's son that has been locked up several times for drugs and drinking charges.. This list could go on and on..crime knows NO boundaries when it comes to money.. Even the rich white folk gets in trouble too! you just wont see them sitting in the jail house because they actually make bail, hence out-of-sight, out-of-mind!

Jokers Wild II
September 3, 2007 8:07 p.m.

Simracer, no you are mistaken.

Higher income/higher educated people in an area of town do equal less crime and drugs. You may have to deal with snobby people like you find in Cary, but I'd rather deal with them than the redneck trailer trash we commonly find in Johnston and Harnett Counties.

In fact, most well to do people I know in Cary/Apex are really nice and would help out a friend in need. I can't say the same for the typical country boy I'd find out in the county, with their racial biases and their nose in the drugs and alcohol.

james004
September 3, 2007 12:25 p.m.

Good Find Chief Edwards! I hope you make a speedy recovery and no matter what WRAL says there is no such thing as a "routine" traffic stop..

Jokers Wild II
September 3, 2007 6:59 a.m.

Why is this whole thing being picked apart like this? 1. Meth is bad. 2. The officer was doing his job. 3. He should be praised for taking more "meth-heads" off the street, and not criticized. He had a reaction to chemicals that led to medical treatment. It could've happened to any of his officers, but this CHIEF chooses to be on the street WITH his officers. I hope Mr. Edwards recovers completely and keeps up with the great job he is doing. As for physical fitness, you'd probably be surprised at what he can actually do. I cannot believe some of the petty comments being made here.