Firefight ends in fight

Woman loses home, ends up in jail

ENGLEWOOD -- Chari Smith had a bad day Wednesday.

Her house caught fire.

She hit a cop.

She pushed him.

She also flicked his hat off his head.

Then she went to jail.

Her dog's OK, though.

Englewood firefighters went to Smith's Overbrook Gardens home shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday after a neighbor saw smoke coming from the Neptune Drive house.

The fire, caused by a coffeepot or similar appliance left on, was contained mostly to the kitchen area, said Englewood Assistant Fire Chief Kirk Gaskell.

"There's a lot of smoke damage throughout the house," Gaskell said.

As firefighters were cleaning up, Smith arrived at her house. She wanted to go inside through her front door, which was partially coated in black soot.

Sarasota County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Kuchar didn't want Smith inside the house, which wasn't safe with all the broken glass, insulation and debris.

Smith didn't seem to care.

Suddenly, her hands appeared on Kuchar's green uniform. She started pushing. She started slapping.

Firefighters ran toward Kuchar, who took Smith to the ground. Another deputy restrained her as fire officials tried to calm her down.

She repeated over and over again: "Let me in my house" and "Get your hands off me."

She eventually calmed down, or so it seemed. The deputy let go of her arms.

She stood there with Kuchar and others.

All seemed well.

With a flick of her hand, Kuchar's hat suddenly flip-flopped off his head and onto the ground. Then, Smith went after him again.

Hands, arms and legs flailed.

Deputies grabbed her arms again, handcuffed her and put in a patrol car.

"That was embarrassing to see," Gaskell said. "People react differently to seeing their house in shambles, destroyed."

Smith, just minutes after seeing her smoked-out home, was arrested on a felony charge of battery on a law enforcement officer.

Kuchar broke his eyeglasses during the scuffles. He also tore his pants and scraped his elbow. No one else was injured in either the fights or in fighting the fires.

Smith's German shepherd, which officials had to contain, was not injured, Gaskell said. She also may have had cats, but they weren't in the house, Gaskell said.

The American Red Cross planned to contact Smith's family to see if they needed any financial help.

 SUN PHOTO BY CHRISTY ARNOLD