Within minutes after taking Dominick Latsch into custody and placing him in the back of a police cruiser about 3 p.m. on Nov. 26, Muncy Patrolman David Williams Jr. became ill from being exposed to suspected fentanyl powder that was on Latsch’s cellphone, according to an affidavit.

Latsch, 25, of 1533 Catherine St., had suffered an apparent drug overdose in his vehicle at the rear of 105 S. Washington Street in Muncy while a minor was in the car, the affidavit stated.

Called to investigate, Williams arrived to find Latsch unresponsive in the driver’s seat, but the officer managed to wake up the man, who admitted that earlier in the day he “had taken xanax that was possibly laced with fentanyl,” the court document stated.

The minor who was with him when he overdosed had sought shelter in a neighbor’s garage, police said. An ambulance was dispatched, but Latsch declined medical treatment. It turned out there was a probation detainer for his arrest on another matter, so the officer placed him in the back of his patrol car.

Latsch asked the officer to call his grandmother on his (Latsch’s) cellphone, police said. Williams then unlocked the phone and “looked for the grandmother’s number. The phone had a light dusting of powder and grease on the screen. Immediately after the officer touched the phone, he became lightheaded and felt like fainting. His lips also became numb,” the affidavit stated.

Williams was transported by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was treated and released hours later. Another officer took Latsch to the prison. Latsch has since been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and is free on $2,500 bail.