Post by KC on Sept 1, 2006 23:39:13 GMT -5
Officer Christian Lee Hanson
Sept. 01, 2006 - GRAND RAPIDS - A Muskegon Heights police officer was arrested Friday afternoon for intentionally setting his home on fire last November.
Officer Christian Lee Hanson, 40, is suspected of torching his Plainfield Township home by filling 20-ounce pop bottles with gasoline, wrapping duct tape around them and lighting them on fire.
When firefighters arrived at 4879 Grand River Drive NE around 6:30 p.m. on November 11, 2005, the fire was fully involved in multiple spots. It took nearly six hours to put the blaze out.
Fire Chief Dave Peterson said he felt the fire was suspicious from the beginning. Investigators smelled gasoline and found a number of pop bottles.
The Michigan State Police, the Kent County Sheriff's Department and the Plainfield Fire Department have been working on this investigation for the past 10 months. They wanted to make sure the evidence was solid before making an arrest.
24 Hour News 8 obtained a copy of the police report that stated Hanson used those pop bottles.
"I talked with him on the phone that night and told him there was a fire and he didn't seem surprised and didn't ask many questions," Peterson said.
Hanson has been suspended from being a part-time officer with the Muskegon Height Police Department, said Muskegon Heights Police Chief Clif Johnson.
He's also been with the Grand Rapids Township Fire Department and as a Lake Odessa police officer. He's been with the Muskegon Heights PD for about 18 months.
No date has yet been set for Hanson's arraignment. He's being held in the Kent County Jail.
www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5357581&nav=0Rce