When Marina police officers stopped by a Lake Street apartment on the afternoon of Sept. 15, they say they were greeted by the smell of marijuana.

The officers were responding to a call to check on young children at the residence. Inside they found three toddlers under the age of 3, and their father, Rodney Cole, 27. Since Cole is on probation for a robbery conviction, he is subject to searches and seizures.

Police say when they began to search the apartment and tried to put handcuffs on Cole, he ran into a back bedroom. The officers feared Cole was looking for a weapon.

"It was one of those situations where it was extremely dangerous for the officers," says Lt. Rick Janicki.

It seems Cole was concerned the officers would discover cocaine in the apartment. In what police say was likely an attempt to destroy evidence of his stash, Cole allegedly swallowed an unknown amount of cocaine.

Ultimately, officers held Cole at gunpoint and used a taser to subdue him. Once they arrested him, the first stop was the hospital to treat him for ingesting the drug.

"When that happens it is extremely dangerous ofr that person," Janicki says. "People do that more than people realize."

Cole has since been released from the hospital and is now in custody at the Monterey County Jail for endangering children, assaulting a police officer and possessing narcotics. Police say his children have been placed with a family member.