San Mateo County man arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, caustic chemical
Photos: San Mateo Police Department
San Mateo police have announced the arrest of a man who is accused of assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a caustic chemical.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, January 19, police responded to reports of a man behaving erratically in the area of West Hillside Boulevard near Clearview Way. Callers told police the man had been throwing items at people, fighting someone with a hammer he was carrying and then taking the man’s phone when he dropped it, and had doused a man and his dog with lighter fluid and tried to start them on fire.
Responding officers learned that the individual had fled into a nearby wooded area, near Bayridge Way, and were aware from prior contacts that a homeless individual was living behind the 1600 block of Bayridge Way. Officers located the individual, identified as 31-year-old Matthew Post, and noted that he matched the description given by the man who’d been doused in lighter fluid.
After about 45 minutes talking to Crisis Negotiation officers and a newly appointed mental health clinician, Post turned himself in. He was later booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a caustic chemical.
