A man brandishing an enflamed piece of wood launched it into a Seattle Police Department cruiser while an officer was still inside, author...
A man brandishing an enflamed piece of wood launched it into a Seattle Police Department cruiser while an officer was still inside, authorities said.
Officers opened fire and deployed a Taser gun during the dangerous incident that involved an unidentified suspect on Thursday at 1.30pm.
An officer responded to South Lake Union neighborhood over a report that a man was seen carrying a 'flaming piece of lumber.'
The officer sat in a police vehicle parked in an alley between Dexter Avenue and John Street, where he encountered the suspect.
'The officer found the man, who threw the flaming lumber—believed to be a 2×2—into the patrol vehicle while the officer was still inside,' a press release said.
The Seattle Police Department shared a photo of the torched police cruiser after a man allegedly threw an enflamed piece of lumber into the vehicle while an officer was inside
The officer inside the vehicle suffered minor burns, but did not suffer more serious injuries.
Additional officers arrived to the scene and chased the suspect into a nearby parking garage, where one person deployed a Taser gun at the suspect and took him into custody.
The Seattle Times reports that the officer who was initially inside the vehicle discharged his firearm at the suspect. The suspect was not struck.
The officer was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening burns.
Pictured: on overhead photo of the burnt police cruiser shows the extensive damage suffered after the incident
While officers chased after the suspect on Thursday afternoon, the police cruiser continued to burn as emergency crews rushed to the scene
Meanwhile, flames continued to overtake the police cruiser and it was soon engulfed in an all-encompassing inferno.
Cellphone footage taken by a witness showed clouds of black smoke billowing into the Seattle air as fire burst from the interior.
A photo shared by the SPD revealed the cruiser suffered severe damage, with the windows blown out, paint peeling from the flames and the metal contorted by the heat.
What appeared to be the 2x2 piece of lumber was still lodged into the driver's side window.
The suspect, who was not identified by authorities, was arrested on Thursday evening and taken into custody
Pictured: the injured officer was seated inside a police cruiser in an alley between Dexter Avenue and John Street in Seattle
The Seattle Times reports that the suspect was arrested on investigation of assault and possibly arson.
Neither the suspects identity, nor the alleged motive have been disclosed.
Authorities have checked the surrounding buildings in the area to ensure no other residents were injured during the incident.
The Seattle Police Department’s Force Investigation Team is on scene conducting interviews and gathering evidence.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the Seattle Police Department for further details.
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