Pelican Parts Forums - A warm Fuzzy

read about the peta protestor who set himself on fire a few days back. thought it couldn't get any funnier....

Portland police officer accidentally sprayed burning man with pepper spray (Fur protester)
The Oregonian ^ | January 28, 2010 | Andrew Scoggin
Posted on January 28, 2010 11:53:44 PM PST by tlb

A Portland police officer accidentally used pepper spray instead of a fire extinguisher on a man who lit himself on fire downtown near a fur store Wednesday.

When the officer went to get a fire extinguisher out of the trunk of her patrol car, she accidentally grabbed a large can of pepper spray used in riot control. Sizer said the pepper spray cans are red like a fire extinguisher.

Kim Kosmas of the Fire Bureau said the spray "didn't have any additional reaction with him already being on fire."

"I have never heard of a situation like this," Sizer said. "To be confronted with someone fully engulfed in flames is something that is so unexpected and so outside the norm that you respond very instinctively. And in many, many ways, her acts were heroic."

The man who set himself afire, 26-year-old Daniel Shaull of Dodge City, Kan., died at a hospital later Wednesday. His father, Warren, said his son had psychiatric problems and was living on the streets.

The officer, who has been on the job for fewer than 10 years, did not know she had used pepper spray until she got back to central precinct, Sizer said. Another officer found the empty can later at the scene.

Police spokeswoman Mary Wheat said the officer is on vacation that was planned before the incident. Police are not pursuing any disciplinary action, she said. She declined to identify the officer.

Sizer said the bureau is going to look at ways to better distinguish items carried in trunks.

When Shaull set himself on fire, a person driving by also responded immediately and grabbed a fire extinguisher from his truck. Sizer said Shaull was running away from those trying to help him. Several officers and residents were later involved, she said.

Portland police officer accidentally sprayed burning man with pepper spray | Oregon Local News - OregonLive.com