Trending Topics

Video shows officers saving man who set himself on fire

Four officers were injured while saving a man who doused himself with gasoline and held a lighter inside a convenience store restroom

By Police1 Staff

KAYSVILLE, Utah — A Utah police department released surveillance footage of officers being burned while saving a suicidal man who set himself on fire.

KSTU reported that the four Kaysville officers injured during the incident spoke out for the first time about the experience during a Thursday news conference. Officers Robert Jackson, Lacy Turner, Cade Bradshaw and Sgt. Shawn McKinnon were called to help a man who doused himself with gasoline and was holding a lighter inside a convenience store restroom.

After negotiations with the man broke down, Jackson said he waited for the man to close the lighter before lunging for it, but the man still managed to set himself on fire.

“I remember grabbing him and kind of wrestling him,” Bradshaw said. “I heard the sound of fire going up and it got extremely hot and we made a mad dash to get out.”

The surveillance footage shows officers scrambling out the door as the burning man takes off his clothing and lunges into store shelves before police extinguished the flames.

https://www.facebook.com/fox13newsutah/videos/10156141053925586/

Jackson said he suffered third-degree burns on his legs and calves and will have to undergo surgery to treat them. Bradshaw said he was burned in the face and suffered second-degree burns on his arms.

McKinnon and Turner have been cleared to return to duty. The man who set himself on fire remains hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

“I feel bad for him. We deal with people that are in crisis. Obviously our main goal is to help them and get them the help they need. It’s a sad situation he was in some point in his life where he felt like he needed to do this,” Bradshaw said. “I hope he gets the help he needs.”

The officers added that they were appreciative of the support they received since the incident.

“My job is to protect lives,” Jackson said. “And if I have to risk mine to save somebody else, I’m going to do that.”

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU