A man has been arrested and charged after ‘breaking into’ his own home to rescue his three dogs after his property caught fire.
Police in Brevard County, Florida, say Wendell Joyner ignored the orders of firefighters after his home was set alight by a faulty television, report the Daily Mail.
However, Mr Joyner claims he woke up to find his duplex filled with smoke and, having made his way out, was trying to save his beloved pets who were stuck inside.
He told Click Orlando:
I got out of the house and then I realised ‘Oh, wait a minute, my dogs are in there’. So, I went back inside to look for my dogs.
As he couldn’t stay inside long due to the amount of smoke, the 58-year-old had to keep running back outside as he tried to locate his dogs.
Finally, he grabbed a firefighter’s axe that was lying on the grass, and tossed it through a front window, only to be tackled by deputies.
He suffered numerous facial and injuries in the process and was then arrested. Fortunately the dogs made it out of the house just in time.
According to the Daily Mail, Mr Joyner was taken to hospital for a CAT scan, before being transferred to Brevard County Jail, where he was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
The police say they suspected Mr Joyner was intoxicated, and were worried about what he was going to do when he picked up the axe.
However Mr Joyner said they were unreasonable and used excessive force:
I think at the most, they should’ve taken me aside, and if they felt that I needed it – to be in a squad car until things settled.
His three dogs are reported to be fine.
