Chatham cops recognized for saving man who set self ablaze

Four Chatham-Kent police officers are being praised for their actions last year during a standoff with a suicidal man who set himself on fire and could have died without their help.

The tense moments of the harrowing encounter are detailed in a recent report to the board that oversees the police department. In July 2017, officers were called to a home where they found a man in the backyard with a “jerry can” of gasoline in one hand and a lighter in the other. Fire crews and paramedics were called to the scene on standby.

According to the report, the officers tried to negotiate with the man and have him agree to a hospital examination. He refused and asked everyone to leave — and then began a countdown.

As police continued their negotiation, the report states he spilled a flammable substance on himself and ignited it with a lighter. He was quickly engulfed in flames — but the officers used their police clothing and a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

The man suffered second- and third-degree burns to a large portion of his body. But the police efforts averted an even more severe outcome, and they deserve recognition, said Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope.

“This was something that none of us would ever want to experience,” he said.

Because the man was seriously hurt in the incident, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit probed the case. The unit’s mandate includes looking into any police interaction that results in serious injury or death to a civilian.

The officers have been cleared of wrongdoing. And they deserve praise, said Chatham-Kent police Chief Gary Conn.