Video Shows Republican Council Member Passed Out in Car Before Crack Arrest

A Republican city councilman is facing calls to resign after he was arrested on Monday in possession of crack cocaine and a crack pipe.

Attorney Matthew R. Reilly, who represents ward six on the City of Cranston Council in Rhode Island, was found passed out and appeared to be "choking" in his car, according to a police statement, which was released with bodycam footage.

Officers discovered crack laced with fentanyl and drug paraphernalia in the car and placed Reilly under arrest. Reilly admitted it "was a relapse," which he attributed to a "really bad divorce," according to the statement.

The footage shows Reilly in his car, apparently asleep until he is shaken awake by an officer, who comments: "You were literally choking in your sleep. Someone was flagging me down about it."

Reilly replies: "I have sleep apnea. I'm sorry," to which the officer responds: "Well, you have a crack pipe in your hands."

The Republican councilman initially denied having drugs in his car, but then confessed he'd had a "relapse" and had been smoking crack cocaine "earlier," after police discovered the drug in his car.

Reilly has been charged with unlawful possession of crack cocaine/fentanyl and released for arraignment in June.

Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins, a Republican who said he's known Reilly since they were children, has urged the councilman to step down for the sake of his family and constituents.

In a statement released on Wednesday, he said: "By relieving himself of his elective duties, Matt will have time to focus his attentions on his personal well-being. It will allow him to focus on his family, away from the important responsibilities and spotlight of public office."

Newsweek has contacted Reilly by email, asking if he intends to resign. He has already stepped down as chair of the Cranston Republican Party, with the Boston Globe reporting that this was at Mayor Hopkins' "behest."

Speaking to the publication, Democrat Jessica Marino, the city council president, also urged Reilly to stand down "for his sake, for that of his family and for the city as a whole."

She added: "Anyone that is going through the situation, my thoughts of his overall well-being as a human is first and foremost, and that of his family."

Separately, there have been calls for Republican Representative Clay Higgins to be arrested, after he was filmed pushing a protester out of a press conference on Wednesday.

In 2021, 21-year-old Kansas lawmaker Aaron Coleman, a Democrat, faced calls to resign after he was arrested twice in less than a month, for alleged drunken driving and domestic battery.