Video catches man dousing patrol car in fuel — and lighting fire, California cops say
A man loitering outside a Southern California police station just after midnight on Thursday found an unoccupied police car — then set the cruiser on fire, video shows.
Surveillance camera video footage released by the Hawthorne Police Department in Los Angeles County shows the man dousing accelerant on top of a Ford SUV, which is parked just feet away from a large sign saying “Hawthorne Police Department.”
Then the man steps back and tosses a flaming object toward the vehicle, setting the fuel on fire and creating a bright explosion that he runs away from, video shows.
Police said the man was first noticed loitering near the station on security camera monitors around 12:15 a.m. After that, police realized the nearby cruiser was on fire and went back to watch earlier video, which revealed a man dousing the vehicle in fuel and sparking the blaze.
Elmer Maldonado, a 24-year-old Hawthorne man, is in custody on suspicion of arson, according to police.
Jail records said Maldonado is being held on $50,000 bail, the Daily Breeze reports.
Los Angeles County firefighters put out the blaze, but police said “the Ford Explorer Police Interceptor is a total loss.”
Local police are working with Los Angeles County Fire Department investigators on the arson case, police said.
Photos of the car released by police show a melted, charred vehicle with its windows broken out and the hood missing.
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Video catches man dousing patrol car in fuel — and lighting fire, California cops say."
