Fox News reports a Seattle police officer sitting in a patrol car parked in an alley Thursday afternoon suffered minor burns after a man set the vehicle on fire and ran away, authorities said.
Police responded to the incident near the downtown area around 1.30 p.m. after receiving calls that a man was walking around with a piece of burning lumber, according to a Seattle Police spokesperson.
A man was found with a flaming piece of lumber believed to be two-by-two feet, which he threw inside the vehicle, triggering a massive fire while the officer was inside. The officer managed to get out and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening burns police said.
“As officers went up to contact him, he was somehow able to get the torch into a sensitive area of the patrol car that it caught fire,” Seattle police Sgt. Randy Huserik told Fox News.
Police said the suspect was caught in a nearby parking garage and was taken into custody after being tased. One officer is believed to have opened fire but the suspect wasn’t hit, the Seattle Police Department said. His name has not been released, but he was expected to be charged with assault and possibly arson.
As the man was being arrested, the flames from the burning lumber engulfed the entire police vehicle.
Authorities searched nearby buildings to ensure no one else was injured.