Did someone deliberately set a locker on fire at New Haven’s police headquarters?
State police are looking into that question.
The tiny fire took place in the second-floor men’s locker room at 1 Union Ave. around 7:30 this past Friday.
An officer reported seeing two lockers on fire and put it out, according to Assistant Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.
The fire department arrived on scene. But the local police and fire departments turned the matter over to state police, since it involved a local police facility, according to Reyes and Fire Chief John Alston Jr.
Alston said his department did not seek to determine if an accelerant was used in the fire, or whether it was an accident. That’s up to the state police to decide. The state police are assisting the state’s attorney’s office, which is in charge of the investigation, according to spokeswoman Trooper Kelly Grant.
Potential crimes involving local police are routinely turned over to the state police to handle, Assistant Chief Reyes said. That doesn’t mean anyone has necessarily done anything wrong. “We want to make sure we have the integrity of the investigation and make sure if there was in fact arson, that a thorough investigation is done, we can hold whoever who is responsible accountable,” Reyes said.
Reyes noted that because the older ceiling tile is flammable, the fire potentially could have caused much damage if it hadn’t been put out quickly.
