San Angelo Man Dies
By: Import User
Updated: June 20, 2007
A San Angelo man has died from burns he suffered during a confrontation with police Monday afternoon.
Officers say 47-year-old Johnny Lopez was apparently attempting to set a house on fire when he was injured.
It happened at a home on the northeast side of San Angelo in the 17-hundred block of Beacon Street.
Police arrived about 3:30 yesterday afternoon after getting a call saying someone was trying to set a house on fire.
Police say when they arrived the man was doused in gasoline and began throwing gas at the officers.
Police Chief Tim Vasquez said Monday night, "The situation had escaladed to the point the the officers' lives were at risk and they attempted to take the subject into custody. In lieu of using their firearms the used pepper spray and when that proved inaffective a taser was deployed. Both of these measures posed less potential risk of serious bodily injury to the man. The suspect caught on fire though the cause of the fire is in question."
Lopez was taken to Shannon before being airlifted to Lubbock. Chief Vasquez has asked the Texas Rangers to investigate circumstances surrounding the incident.
