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A 23-year-old man set fire to a mattress at a Chandler Avenue residence, then assaulted a responding officer who confronted the suspect as he emerged from the building around 10:45 a.m., Lt. Christopher Guenther said.
The suspect ran but was quickly captured near the corner of East Blancke Street and Baltimore Avenue, Guenther said.
The first officer was taken to Newark University Hospital with serious injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, the lieutenant said.
A second officer was treated for minor injuries at Trinitas Hospital. A third was treated for smoke inhalation at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in Rahway.
This comes after an officer was involved in a crash just after 10 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of East Elizabeth Avenue and Bower Street.
The officer was responding to reports of a fight on the 100 block of North Wood Ave when his cruiser collided with a 2014 Toyota Camry, Guenther said.
The officer was taken to University Hospital with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, he said in a release.
The other driver, a 27-year-old Elizabeth woman also didn't have life-threatening injuries after she was extricated by firefighters and taken to University Hospital, the lieutenant said.
The Union County Police Traffic Enforcement Unit was investigating the crash. Authorities asked that anyone with information about the accident contact investigators at (908) 654-9804.
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