Tasered Oz man bursts into flames
Petrol-sniffing incident ends in third degree burns
Posted in Law, 21st July 2009 08:48 GMT
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A 36-year-old Western Australia Aboriginal man is in a "critical but stable condition" after bursting into flames following a police tasering, ABC News reports.
Officers were attempting to arrest Ronald Mitchell for sniffing petrol at the Goldfields Aboriginal community of Warburton when he "turned violent" - threatening police with a container of petrol and a cigarette lighter.
Having ignored "repeated requests" to desist, he was tasered, caught fire and suffered "third degree burns to his face, arms and chest".
Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said locals then attacked the officer who'd administered the tasering. She said: "He had rocks thrown at his head while he was trying to aid the man and he received burns to his hands and also a laceration to his head, which required five stitches."
Usher assured that an investigation would "try to determine the full circumstances about the incident and also the source of the ignition".
The victim is being treated in Royal Perth Hospital, ABC News concludes. ®
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