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"Bored" Teen Allegedly Started Mattress Fire That Seriously Injured Cops
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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The 16-year-old arrested for the Brooklyn fire that critically injured two police officers on Sunday reportedly told cops that he set the blaze because he was "bored."
According to the Post's source, Dockery said, "I decided to take a lighter and light the top of the mattress because I was bored. I saw the mattress catch fire and I tried to blow out the flames. I thought the flame was out and I looked back and the mattress was in flames. I started knocking on apartment doors to alert people to the fire."
Via Facebook
Dockery lives on the 12th floor of the NYC Housing Authority building, 2007 Surf Avenue, but allegedly set the fire on the 13th floor. The Daily News reports, "When the flames became too fierce, Dockery tried to stomp them out and then ran to his cousin’s pad on the same floor for help, according to cops. They returned to the burning mattress, but the fire was burning out of control so they ran downstairs to Dockery’s 12th floor apartment and called 911 for help, the sources said."
Police Officers Rosa Rodriguez, 36, and Dennis Guerra, 38, responded to the 911 call about the fire, but when they got out of the elevator they were overcome by smoke. A source told the News that a video shows Guerra getting hit by the toxic smoke: "He’s literally right at the door and you see this rush of blackness that comes in. You barely see him as he turns, then it's all black."
The cops called for help, "Help! Help! We can’t breathe. Get us out of here! We don’t know where we are. We’re in an elevator. We don’t know what floor we’re on. We can’t breathe! We can’t see!" before they fell unconscious and unresponsive. Guerra also went into cardiac arrest. Both were revived and taken to multiple hospitals and remain in critical condition.
WCBS 2 had a photograph of the burned hall, marked with blistered paint and smoke stains. A resident said, "We couldn’t get out. I knew enough not to run for the elevator, not to leave this door. The building is fireproof, but the paint, of course, burns."
Dockery was charged with two counts of assault, reckless endangerment and arson. Different sources tell the tabloids that he's a "firebug," with one telling the Post, "He is really obsessed with this arson thing... He was bragging about it on his Facebook page."
Dockery's mother might be kicked out of her home, unless she bars her son. A neighbor said, "I think he set it on purpose, it wasn’t no accident. He likes to smoke weed all the time," but added, "he’s not a bad kid at all. He has a good mother. She goes to church all the time. Some kids just don't think, they don't pay attention to the consequences."
Tagged
arson
brooklyn
coney island
firebug
injured cops
marcell dockery
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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