SEATTLE, WA—The Seattle Police Department (SPD) released footage of an October 15 incident when a man charged at a police officer with a burning piece of lumber in the South Lake Union area.
Brian Joseph Leil, 37, whose identity was confirmed by the SPD to Canyon News was approached by a police officer in an alley between Dexter Avenue and John Street at around 1:30 p.m. Leil is seen in the released footage carrying a burning piece of lumber and charging at the officer after being ordered to stop.
The officer was still inside the vehicle when Leil threw the flaming lumber inside the vehicle. The officer responded by firing his weapon, and proceeded to escape the flames by jumping out of the car through the passenger side.
Additional responding officers chased Leil into a parking garage where they deployed a taser and took him into custody, according to the Seattle PD. The flames from the burning lumber engulfed the entire patrol vehicle as officers arrested Leil.
The injured officer, Caleb Pomazon, has been with the department for one year and is currently on paid administrative leave per department policy.
Leil was not struck by the gunfire. He was later booked at King County Jail and is being held on a $500,000 bail, according to the jail’s website.
Officer Pomazon was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening burns, an initial report from Seattle police said.
Detectives with the department’s Force Investigations Team investigated the incident and released the footage on Friday, October 16.
