Man pleads guilty in attack that set Vancouver officer’s uniform on fire

Jordan Mutual has pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon in connection with an April 2025 incident in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Mutual, 41, had been scheduled for trial Monday on two counts of assaulting a peace officer. Instead, he entered a guilty plea to one count, the BC Prosecution Service confirmed.

Vancouver Police said two foot patrol officers were taking a suspect into custody near East Hastings and Carrall streets after he allegedly tried to flee when stopped for jaywalking. Police alleged the suspect used a flammable substance that set one officer’s uniform on fire and singed the other officer’s uniform. Both officers extinguished the flames themselves.

Mutual was arrested nearby and treated in hospital for burns. The court has ordered a pre-sentence report; he remains in custody and is due back in court Sept. 21 to confirm the report and set a sentencing date.

Mutual was also the subject of a previous civil forfeiture case involving cash seized in 2019 and 2020. Court documents alleged the money was connected to unlawful drug activity; after no response was filed, the cash was forfeited in 2021.