Something quite unusual happened when police in Manitowoc, WI, sought to subdue and arrest naked 32-year-old Travis L. Tingler on July 14 with a Taser. They set him on fire. Igniting Tingler was an accident, according to police.
At approximately 9:30 PM, last Friday, officers responded to a call that reported a man wielding a knife. When police arrived, they discovered Tingler standing in the street naked, shouting toward a house about having a knife and that he was planning to “gut” people inside the home. According to the Manitowoc Police Department’s report, a responding officer told him that he couldn’t be in the street without clothes on.
According to the police report, an officer asked Tingler about “his condition.” He reportedly had a blank stare, looked dazed, and sweated “profusely.” The police suspected that he was on drugs. Tingler insisted that he could be naked on the street and said that he had no weapon before told police a location where he wanted to go. However, when officers called dispatch, they were told that the City of Two Rivers had an active warrant for Tingler’s arrest.
Suspect wriggles handcuffs to the front of body
When Tingler was handcuffed, he wriggled the cuffs from the back to the front of his body. Police found a pair of pants on the front lawn and they attempted to put the pants on Tingler. Officers spoke with a girl in the home, where Tingler said he wanted to go to.
The girl, who was holding a baby, told officers that Tingler and her mother had been dating and lived together in the house for roughly two years. Tingler reportedly started drinking around three hours prior and began acting “weird,” she said, USA Today reported.
Tingler allegedly threw a glass he was drinking from into the street.
He broke the glass and afterward he removed his clothes and tossed them on the front porch, the girl said. The officers also discovered a folding knife on the front porch--where Tingler lived.
Suspect puts up struggle, seizes lighter, gets hair on fire
After officers were able to put Tingler's pants back on they wanted Tingler to get into their police vehicle but he refused and starting kicking and struggling.
One of the officers sustained minor injuries when Tingler hit the officer in the face. Tingler said that he wanted to see his children and he resisted until the police used their Taser on Tingler to get him into the police car, the Daily Mail reported.
Police stated that Tingler “somehow” picked up a lighter during his struggle with officers and the Taser’s probe struck the lighter. Police attempted to tase him twice, as they tried to subdue him and were not successful. The third time was successful and the mix of the Taser’s electricity with the lighter fluid set Tingler's chest and beard hair on fire. Tingler was not burned seriously, according to Detective Andrew Trilling, of the Manitowoc Police Department.
After officers called paramedics, he was transported to a local hospital but was released after treatment and taken to the county jail. According to staff at the hospital, Tingler’s blood-alcohol level was 0.177. He also tested positive for marijuana.
Trilling stated that local ordinances do not permit people to walk around naked, so Tingler was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior, disorderly conduct, felony resisting, and battery on an officer.
