An officer was hospitalised after a man doused himself and police in a chemical substance and started a fire, Greater Manchester Police say.

The force said the officer was ‘lucky’ to escape with just suspected chemical burns around his eye following the incident in Farnmouth, Bolton, on Friday, December 11.

Bodycam footage shows officers shouting ‘Fire! Fire!’, as flames erupt from under an entrance. They break in to an address, before a suspect yells, violently struggles and attempts to barricade himself and is later restrained and arrested.

Officers say they arrived at an address on Higher Market Street, Farnworth, to carry out an arrest for ‘very recent domestic violence offences’ shortly before 11pm.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson explained: ‘A 51-year-old man has been arrested following an incident in Bolton where officers were doused with petrol and a property was set alight.

‘As officers attempted to detain the suspect, he resisted arrest and threw a substance believed to be petrol over officers before dousing himself in the substance and threatening to set himself on fire.

‘As officers entered the property, the man continued to resist arrest and set fire to the doorway before attempting to barricade himself inside.

‘The suspect was safely detained and arrested on suspicion of malicious communications, breach of a restraining order, arson with intent to endanger life and assault on an emergency services worker. ‘

The suspect was detained after hospital treatment for smoke inhalation and minor injuries.

An officer who was hospitalised and treated by an eye specialist for suspected chemical burns had been discharged but requires further assessment later this week, the force said.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, of Greater Manchester Police, said: ‘This was a challenging situation which highlights the dangerous conditions our officers are often faced with when carrying out their duties to protect our community and those who are in need of our help.

‘Every single day our officers are willing and prepared to do everything within their powers, including putting themselves in harm’s way, in order to protect our most vulnerable victims, including those of domestic violence.’

He continued: ‘I would like to commend the bravery of our officers and partners in this situation who managed to safely detain the suspect despite the challenges that were thrown in their direction.

‘One of our officers was taken to hospital with chemical burn injuries, and we are lucky that those injuries were not even more severe.

‘I only hope this footage that we are sharing today can give an insight to the public of the resilience and commitment of our officers to go the extra mile to protect vulnerable members of our communities.’

Christian Smith, 51, of Farnworth has been charged with one count of arson with intent to endanger life, one count of affray, one count of actual bodily harm to a police officer and one count of harassment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article