– Officer asp. Michał Rutkowski from the Boguszów police station parked an unmarked Kia police car on one of the streets in Boguszów-Gorce last week and then went to an apartment to carry out procedural activities. During this time, a 26-year-old resident of the town doused the front of the parked police car with petrol and set it on fire, reports junior asp. Przemysław Ratajczyk from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław. – Fortunately, shortly afterwards the police officer finished his activities and went to the vehicle. When he noticed flames coming from under the bonnet, he immediately began extinguishing the fire. Thanks to the officer’s swift reaction, the vehicle was not completely destroyed by fire, and the flames did not spread to the adjacent building.
Once the danger had been eliminated and a second patrol had arrived at the scene, the police officer immediately began efforts to arrest the perpetrator. Witnesses to the incident gave the officer a description of the arsonist.
The vandal was arrested in less than 15 minutes. The spokesperson said: – It turned out that the 26-year-old was already known to officers in connection with crimes committed previously. The man explained that he had committed the arson out of revenge. He also indicated where he had discarded the petrol container.
The 26-year-old was remanded in custody for three months. He will now answer for all his actions before the court. For setting the police car on fire alone, he faces between three and five years in prison.