A Birmingham police officer
was charged with arson Friday, accused of setting one of more than a dozen
blazes that investigators said charred abandoned homes in a part of the city
plagued by vacant houses.
Curtis Thornton, 27, of
Warrior, worked as a patrol officer in a part of the city where authorities
said 13 suspicious fires occurred in vacant homes last month.
Thornton was previously
jailed on charges of setting fires near his home in northern Jefferson County,
and police haven’t reported any blazes believed linked to the Birmingham spree
since he was arrested.
"We are disappointed
the evidence has led us to the wretched task of arresting someone we trusted to
protect the lives and property of our citizens," Police Chief A.C. Roper
said in a statement.
Roper said officers were
working to finish investigations of the other fires, which remain unsolved but
in which Thornton previously was described as a suspect.
Authorities didn’t reveal a
possible motive in the spree, but police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams said
authorities believe the fires were connected.
"We still have to
investigate them separately and see where that leads us," he said.
Thornton’s attorney, Brett
Hamock, said a grand jury would consider the charges.
"Right now he’s
innocent," said Hamock.
The western section of
Birmingham known as Ensley is dotted with vacant homes, a problem which
authorities say can contribute to blight and crime by providing a haven for
illicit actions like drug use and trafficking. The city has targeted about 240
vacant structures for demolition.
Cutting grass in his yard
across the street from two vacant homes in the area, Herman Smith said
something needs to be done about abandoned homes in the city.
"There are vacant
houses all around here. Plenty of them," he said Thursday.
But torching houses to get
rid of the eyesores isn’t the solution, he said.
"I was surprised when
they said a cop might be doing it," said Smith.
The city has approved money
to speed up the demolition of long-vacant homes, and crews this week began
demolishing structures burned during the fire outbreak.
Thornton has been a
Birmingham police officer since August 2010. He faces charges of arson,
attempted arson and criminal mischief for his alleged involvement in five fires
in Warrior, located about 25 miles north of Birmingham. Those blazes occurred
shortly before a string of fires began in Birmingham.
A judge set a bond hearing
for June 21 for Thornton, who was freed from the county jail on a bond of
$315,000 for the Warrior charges but remains in the city jail on a bond of
$150,000 for the Birmingham charge.