Man yells ‘shoot me’ at California police after car nearly hits firefighter, cops say

Firefighters on a call at a Santa Rosa, California, hotel Tuesday night encountered a man who asked for an ambulance— then drove his silver Mercedes directly at them, The Press Democrat reports.

One firefighter leaped out of the way of the oncoming car as it sped from the hotel parking lot about 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to the publication.

Officers responding to calls for help from firefighters chased the Mercedes at speeds up to 65 mph as the driver, “later identified as Troy Jordan,” 52, blew through stop signs, police wrote.

Jordan led officers back to his own house, where he yelled at them to “shoot me,” police wrote. Officers arrested Jordan.

After his arrest, police “noticed smoke billowing from the open front door” of his home, officers wrote.

“It looks like he set a fire inside of his house, in the hallway, with some personal effects. We don’t know why,” said Sgt. Chris Mahurin, The Press Democrat reported. Police believe he ignited the fire before he approached the firefighters.

Officers extinguished the fire, police wrote in their statement. No one else was inside the home at the time.

Jordan faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, threatening an officer, arson and evading police, Santa Rosa police wrote.

This story was originally published February 6, 2019 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Man yells ‘shoot me’ at California police after car nearly hits firefighter, cops say."