Wisconsin Police Accidentally Set Fire To Naked Man

MANITOWOC, WI — A 32-year-old man from Manitowoc was arrested Friday night, and as the naked man struggled with police, officers accidentally set him on fire.

Travis L. Tingler was found by police in the middle of the intersection on the 1100 block of South 25th Street on the evening of July 14, shouting toward a home, stating that he had a knife and that he was going to gut people inside the residence in question - all while standing in public, naked.

“I told him he couldn’t be out in the middle of the street with no clothes on,” according to a Manitowoc police report via the Journal Sentinel. “I asked him about his condition. I noticed he had a dazed appearance, blank stare and he sweated profusely.”

According to police, the officers on scene believed Tingler may have been under the influence of narcotics.

Tingler reportedly told police he wanted to go to a home on 25th St., but officers weren't about to let that happen. Instead, they took him into custody and found a pair of his pants on a nearby lawn.

They tried to put pants on Tingler, but he struggled so much with officers, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to cover him.

An eyewitness, according to a Journal Sentinel report, stated that Tingler had been drinking and making strange comments, such as, "Stay in the light and never come into the dark!"

According to police, Tingler wanted to return home to see his kids and became agitated again with officers. At one point during the struggle, he apparently picked up a cigarette lighter — which figures prominently in what happened next.

Police deployed a stun gun to subdue Tingler, but when the probe of the stun gun struck the lighter instead of making contact with his body. According to the report, the stun gun probe hit the lighter, rupturing it, and an electrical charge originating from the stun gun ignited the lighter fluid, setting fire to Tingler's beard and chest hair.

As police attempted to put out the flaming Tingler, he continued his fight against the officers, punching one officer in the face. A second stun gun was deployed on Tingler — now extinguished — and resulted in knocking him out.

According to police, Tingler tested positive for marijuana and had a blood alcohol count of 0.17.

Formal charges are being recommended by police, including resisting an officer, battery, disorderly conduct and lewd and lascivious behavior.

Image via Manitowoc County Sheriff