A Nanticoke man who was tripping on acid called himself Jesus and had to be subdued with a Taser after growling at and fighting with police, according to charges.

Police say Carl John Thomas May, 20, of 328 Kosciuszko St., was wearing only boxer shorts when they found him sitting in the middle of a street, prompting a confrontation in which May was zapped with a Taser twice.

“May appeared to be totally incoherent, making growling, grunting, inaudible utterances which did not make any sense,” according to a police affidavit filed in court.

Police were on a routine patrol at East Church and Kosciuszko streets about 3:10 a.m. Sunday when they saw May sitting in the middle of a crosswalk on Church Street.

The officers pulled up to the semi-nude May and asked if everything was OK. May responded by standing up, putting his hands on the passenger door and beginning to growl as he grabbed Patrolman Joseph Buchalski’s jacket, according to the affidavit.

The other officer, Sgt. Brian Williams, got out of the car and approached May, who advanced toward him with his fists clenched. Williams put out his hand, trying to calm May down, but May continued to close in, prompting Buchalski to get out of the car.

May grabbed hold of Williams’ arm and took him to the ground, at which point his mother came out of her nearby house and began pleading with May to stop fighting the police.

“May responded to his mother that he was Jesus,” the affidavit says, noting that his mother told police he had taken acid.

May refused to stop struggling with Williams, prompting Buchalski to pull his Taser and zap May with a five-second burst. May fell to the ground, but then again went after Williams, grabbing him in an attempt to wrestle him back to the ground, according to police.

Buchalski hit May with another burst from his Taser, prompting May to comply with officers who arrested him.

Williams, whose uniform was torn in the altercation, sustained a knee injury and was taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for treatment.

Police charged May with four counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, two counts each of diorderly conduct and harassment and one count each of resisting arrest, public intoxication, obstructing highways and criminal mischief.

Magisterial District Judge Donald L. Whittaker arraigned May on Sunday and set his bail at $25,000. May remains jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility today.