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For Immediate Release |
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| Date | August 08, 2002 | |
| Contact | Sergeant Eric Charrette | |
| Phone | (909) 351-6050 | |
| Fax | (909) 351-5699 | |
Riverside, Ca- On Thursday, August 8, 2002 at 12:34 pm officers from the Riverside Police Department were dispatched to 6500 block of Valley Drive regarding a 911 hang-up call. Upon their arrival, they attempted to make contact at the front door of the residence. After numerous attempts at the door, officers searched the exterior of the residence and observed smoke inside the residence. Officers entered the house through an unlocked front door and found the interior of the house filled with smoke from several small interior fires.
Without
regard for their own personal safety, they began a search of the house for any
occupants. As they went room-to-room the house continued to fill with smoke and
the intensity of the fires grew. Officers located a female subject sitting on a
chair in the living room area of the house. The subject was extremely agitated
and begged the officers to “let her die.” Overcoming moderate
resistance, they picked up the female and carried her out of the house. As they
exited the front door, the fires were burning extremely hot and the residence
was fully engulfed. Arson investigators later learned that there were five
separate fires burning inside the house.
The
officers (Robert Olsen and Laura Riso), as well as the subject, were treated for
smoke inhalation at local hospitals. The subject, who’s name is being
withheld, was placed on a 72-hour mental evaluation and criminal charges are
possibly pending further criminal investigation. The structural damage of the
residence has not yet been determined.
