DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Detectives with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit are asking for the public’s help identifying the arsonist who used a lit flare to set a deputy’s patrol car on fire.
Authorities said the deputy was inside the vehicle when the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday near the 1000 block of West Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach.
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“According to investigators, a BSO Deerfield Beach District deputy was parked in his marked patrol car when he noticed heavy smoke coming from the vehicle’s rear passenger side,” a BSO news release stated. “A passerby also flagged the deputy down and advised him that his rear passenger tire was on fire. The deputy immediately exited the vehicle to investigate and observed the lit flare.”
Deputies and BSO firefighters responded to the scene and the fire was extinguished.
According to authorities, the deputy was in the area “with his emergency lights activated to deter street racers from speeding down Hillsboro Boulevard when the unknown arsonist lit the flare that placed the deputy in danger.”
Anyone with further information is asked to call Detective Kristina Luna at 954-321-4200. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.
Tips may also be submitted through the SaferWatch app or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.