A male has been charged after officers were doused in petrol and a house set alight in what police have described as a terrifying incident.
Christian Smith, 51, of Higher Market Street in Farnworth, has been charged with one count of arson with intent to endanger life, one count of affray, one count of actual bodily harm to a police officer and one count of harassment.
Smith has been remanded in police custody and is due to appear before Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court on Monday 14th December 2020.
At around 23:00 hours on Friday 11th December, officers were carrying out an arrest enquiry an address on Higher Market Street in Farnworth. This enquiry was related to recent domestic violence offences.
It is alleged that Smith resisted arrest and threw petrol over the officers and himself.
Subsequently, a male police officer was taken to hospital for treatment for suspected chemical burns. He was seen by an eye specialist and has been discharged awaiting a further assessment later this week.
GMP assistant chief constable Rob Potts said:
“This was a challenging situation which highlights the dangerous conditions our officers are often faced with when carrying out their duties to protect our community and those who are in need of our help.
“Every single day, our officers are willing and prepared to do everything within their powers, including putting themselves in harm’s way, in order to protect our most vulnerable victims, including those of domestic violence.
“I would like to commend the bravery of our officers and partners in this situation who managed to safely detain the suspect despite the challenges that were thrown in their direction.”
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What is the betting that Smith has more convictions than you can shake a stick at? Why is he still free? Petrol does not end up in a house by accident. In the shed to power the mower perhaps, but indoors? This could have gone very nasty indeed.
People like this need to be locked up for a very long time indeed. Not, I must stress, to punish them. No. Rather, to protect society from their violence. What decisions they make whilst inside is up to them, but if they come out an behave like that again, they go back in for twice as long. In Smith’s case, he would come out in a box, which is a good result for the community.