Officer set on fire in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside, police say – BC [Video]

A man is in jail after allegedly setting one Vancouver police officer on fire and singeing a second in the city’s Downtown Eastside on Thursday.

“It definitely is enraging to our members, this comes right on the heels of other assaults that happened not very long ago,” Vancouver police Const. Tania Visitntin said.

“The last one was an officer getting spat in the mouth with bloody saliva. The one before that was an officer in the same area, the Downtown Eastside, getting slashed in the leg while protecting the residents and the businesses in the area.”

Vancouver police said it happened just after 9 p.m. as the pair were patrolling the area as part of Task Force Barrage, an initiative to boost police presence in the area and crack down on organized crime.

When the officers tried to stop a man for jaywalking, the suspect fled, according to police.

The officers pursued, …