Quote:Naked man arrested after pulling awl from rectum
By Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Police arrested a naked man caught masturbating on a bicycle path Thursday after officers and firefighters stood guard while he removed a sharp tool from his rectum.

"The Fire Department had determined that he would need to go to the hospital to have it removed," El Cerrito Detective Cpl. Don Horgan said. "But when he heard what they were talking about he said, 'Hey, don't worry about it. I can do it.'"

Mindful that a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape could be used as a weapon, officers kept their weapons trained on 33-year-old John Sheehan throughout the delicate operation.

Sheehan went quietly afterward, without explanation.

Passers-by called police about 7:50 a.m. to report a naked man lying on a tree stump beside the Ohlone Greenway path, exposing himself and masturbating. Police saw Sheehan and arrested him on suspicion of indecent exposure.

Officers led him to the nearest street, the 2000 block of Kearney Avenue. Before putting Sheehan in the back of his car, Sgt. Paul Keith asked the suspect if he had anything on him that police should know about.

Sheehan said he had hidden a "screwdriver" in his anal cavity, Horgan said.

Unsure about what to do, police called for a fire engine. Firefighters quickly offered the opinion that emergency room staff were better equipped to deal with the situation. Sheehan interceded before an ambulance was called.

Sheehan paroled from state prison last week and listed an address in Pittsburg, Horgan said. Police booked him into County Jail in Martinez on suspicion of parole violations, indecent exposure and one felony count of possessing a concealed weapon.