Teen Drug Abuse

Painesville Twp. dad vows to keep teen drug abuse from killing another youngster

Jeff Williams is a hands-on dad who rarely missed a football game or any of his four children's other activities.

He is also an East Cleveland police officer trained in drug detection.

But the Painesville Township man could not stop his 14-year-old son, Kyle, from experimenting with "dusting," the slang term used for huffing "Dust-Off" - a common household spray designed for cleaning computers.

Kyle, a student at Riverside High School in Painesville Township, was discovered not breathing in his bed early Wednesday morning by Williams' wife.

Although the victim's mother immediately called 911 and tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it was too late.

An empty jumbo can of Dust-Off was found in Kyle's bedroom. A preliminary coroner's investigation shows Kyle died of an accidental overdose after inhaling chemicals from teen drug abuse.

As many as 125 teens a year are killed by drug abuse, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition in Austin, Texas.

"This isn't happening just to parents who don't know anything," Williams said Friday, speaking publicly about his ordeal for the first time.

"I know everything about drugs. I've given speeches at schools. We have a (retired) K-9 dog who lives at home. But I couldn't save my son. You better watch yours. I don't want anyone else to go through this."

Dust-Off is gaining popularity among youngsters because kids do not consider it a dangerous inhalant like strong-smelling glue, chemicals or paint, Kyle's father said.

"There are a lot of teens doing this," Williams said. "They don't have a car. They don't have a job and they can't go out and get drugs like marijuana. But they can get this, and their parents can get it for them. It's not supposed to kill them."

Williams said he was the one who bought the can that killed his teen.

"I just bought some because I was working on a computer," he said. "Kyle loved the computer."

The police officer - who also has a 13-year-old

and two daughters, ages 12 and 19 - said despite his drug training, he was unaware the product was used for anything other than its designed use.

"I didn't know about this. ER (emergency room) doctors don't know about this," Williams said.

"This is the new inhalant. It's colorless and odorless. They call it 'dusting' for the compressed air. But what's in there is heavier than air. So when you breathe, it fills your lungs with that instead of oxygen, so you can't breathe.

"Kyle told his friend, 'These can't hurt you. It's just a little lightheadedness.' But the propellant is stronger than air. It replaces the oxygen in your body. It has the ability to kill you."
According to Kyle's friend, the victim had only "dusted" a couple times.

Williams said he wants the manufacturer of Dust-Off to either pull the product from the shelves or make it safer somehow.

"I'm going to do something," the father said. "It's not going to end here. That bull---- warning on the back of the can just doesn't cut it. Because their can is the drug of choice for teen-agers."

An office manager at Somerville, N.J.-based Falcon Safety Products Inc., the company that manufactures Dust-Off, said nobody from the company would be available to comment on Williams' allegations Friday.

Williams said Kyle had none of the telltale warning signs of inhalant abuse - irritability, depression and loss of appetite.

"This does not carry any of those signs," the father said. "He wasn't a dopehead or a druggie. To kids, this is not considered a drug."

In lieu of flowers, the Williams' family asks that donations be made to the Riverside Teen Institute for a Drug & Alcohol Abuse Free Lifestyle.
Direct donations to: Riverside Principal David Toth; 585 Riverside Drive; Painesville, 44077.