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Man at fire accused of striking officer
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A Port Hueneme man was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of punching a police officer who was trying to remove him from the scene of a house fire, authorities said Tuesday.
When police and firefighters responded Sunday to a reported structure fire in the 1000 block of Evergreen Lane in Port Hueneme, they found neighbor Lloyd Smith trying to put out the fire with a garden hose while other neighbors were going into the home to make sure the residents were safely out, said Cmdr. Jerry Beck of the Port Hueneme Police Department. Authorities later determined the residents were not home.
Authorities repeatedly asked Smith to leave so firefighters could do their jobs, Beck said. When he refused, an officer tried to forcibly remove him, Beck said. At that point, Smith started swinging and struck an officer several times, Beck said.
After the scuffle, Smith was arrested on suspicion of battering or delaying an officer, Beck said. Neither Smith nor the officer was injured.
Firefighters put out the blaze and rescued a small dog in the home, Beck said. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Posted by Hueneme1961 on April 30, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
we are such a friendly city.poor guy trying to do the right thing by his neighbor and look what happens.I wouldn't have left my house if it was burning either.Its all we have. i would fought to.I wonder how many it took.I think this guys actions stoped a bigger fire .I should bail him out. ;)
Posted by WarpKat on May 1, 2008 at 7:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You should read the article more closely.
Nobody was home except the dog. The guy trying to put out the fire was a neighbor and despite him trying to do the right thing, he should have made way for the fire department and police, not stand his ground and fight them.
For trying to slow down the fire, he's a hero.
For the combativeness he displayed, he deserves to go to jail for a couple days and get fined.
Posted by keepin_it_real on May 1, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My thoughts exactly WarpKat. I can appreciate the fact the guy was trying to help, probably had is own interest in mind too, like preventing the fire from spreading to his own home. But when the FD arrived he should have got out of the way and let the firefighters do their job. He will spend some time in jail to think about that hu.
Posted by AnnaWhaat on May 5, 2008 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
keepin_it_real ,I agree ! Once the fire trucks were on scene he should have moved out of the way.
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