Oklahoma Man Burned Alive After Drenching Himself With Gasoline, Tased By Police Officer

An Oklahoma man was burned alive Tuesday when a police officer used a taser after the man doused himself in gasoline.

Oklahoma police responded to a welfare check Tuesday evening in McClain County for a man who reportedly made public suicidal comments. When officers arrived on the scene, the unidentified man refused to exit his vehicle at first, but suddenly stepped out - pouring gasoline over himself and the car. The man then pulled out a lighter, which resulted in the officer's taser being utilized.

According to McClain County Sheriff Don Hewett, the origin of the flames remained unclear.

"We don't know if it was a spark from the taser or from the lighter that set off the fire," Hewett said Wednesday, according to the Oklahoma City News.

The man suffered severe burns and died at the scene. The unidentified officer who fired the taser also suffered burns and was taken to a local medical clinic for his minor injuries.

The identities of those involved had not yet been released as the case was still under investigation.

This event comes just over a month since the shooting of Magdiel Sanchez in September. The 35-year-old deaf man was fatally shot by Oklahoma police after reportedly refusing to obey officers' commands. Along with his hearing impairments, Sanchez had additional disabilities that made speaking difficult. The victim communicated non-verbally, mainly through hand gestures.

"In those situations, very volatile situations, you have a weapon out, you can get what they call tunnel vision, or you can really lock into just the person that has the weapon that’d be the threat against you," said Police Captain Bo Mathews in regard to Sanchez's death. "I don’t know exactly what the officers were thinking at that point."