ELYRIA — An Elyria man was arrested and sent to the hospital for a mental evaluation after he fled police who were responding to a complaint about him.

Herbert L. Johnson, 55, was charged with obstructing official business before being sent to EMH Regional Medical Center.

Officers were called to 327 Broad St. about 9:30 Sunday morning after receiving a report of a man standing in the road with his pants down. Officers found Johnson, but did not find him to have his pants down, according to a police report.

Johnson was instructed to move out of the street, and officers moved on, the report said.

Officers met up with Johnson again at Broad Street and Kerstetter Way and found him to be talking irrationally to himself, the report said. Johnson refused to tell officers his name, stating only that he did not want to go to jail.

Police told Johnson they only wanted to talk to him about his actions, but he took off running, the report said.

As an officer followed Johnson in his cruiser, Johnson lost his balanced and fell face-first onto the concrete walkway, the report said.

Officers reported that Johnson was babbling incoherently and was wet and smelled like urine. When they asked him about the smell, he replied that he “smelled like the scum of Elyria,” according to the report.

Johnson also mentioned that he was upset about his rock that he lost because he did not get an opportunity to name it, the report said.