A Sunset man has found himself on the wrong side of the law after he deliberately set a police patrol car ablaze outside the Sunset City Office Building, an act he later claimed was to draw law enforcement's attention. 46-year-old Chad Randal Livingston reportedly carried a bottle of lighter fluid and a torch from his home to the office building where he discovered a Sunset City Police car and decided to set it on fire.
As the flames took hold of the vehicle, Livingston depleted his lighter fluid supply and proceeded to call 911 to report his actions, a decision that led to his arrest without incident. According to ABC4, he was booked on third-degree felony charges for arson and property damage, with damages to the police car estimated between $1,500 and $5,000.
In a probable cause statement reported by KSLTV, Livingston claimed his drastic action came on the heels of threats allegedly made against him by police officers, who he said told him they were going to kill him. This assertion adds a troublesome layer to the otherwise straightforward arson case, suggesting a level of fear or desperation that may have underpinned his destructive bid for attention.
Further complicating the story, Livingston, upon his arrest, expressed to officers that his intention was not merely attention-seeking but rather a form of protest, indicating a desire to "make a change" as reported by FOX 13, he acknowledged the wrongfulness of his actions, but maintained that his goal was to trigger a response from local law enforcement, and while nobody was injured in the fire, the stunt has assuredly ignited a conversation about the measures individuals may take, and the lines they may cross, to be heard and taken seriously by those in power.
