Smelled smoke on patrol — descriptions led to two arson arrests
Working a patrol post at a retail center on a hot summer night, Brandon Muse smelled smoke and found the park behind the property on fire, close to both the store and a neighborhood. 911 dispatch was overwhelmed — fires were being reported all over town — and the call was triaged low priority. About fifteen minutes later an officer arrived and asked him to sweep the surrounding area. Driving a well-marked patrol unit, he spotted two teenagers who broke into a run the moment they saw the vehicle.
He gave police the direction of travel and suspect descriptions. Two 19-year-olds were arrested for setting fires around Citrus Heights. The story was reported by KCRA 3 and later cited in TIME magazine's investigation of the private security industry.
