NEW BERLIN, Wis. — A 19-year-old New Berlin man is accused of throwing Molotov cocktails into a playground early Friday morning while drunk and recording, planning to put it on social media.
Braddock Sherwood is charged with making Molotov cocktails, arson, and criminal damage to property after investigators say he set fire to Biwer Park in New Berlin shortly after 3 a.m. Friday.
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According to a criminal complaint, Sherwood filled bottles with gas, placed a cloth inside, lit them, and threw them into the playground area.
Prosecutors say that he was on FaceTime with friends the first time he did it, then continued filming, planning to post the footage on social media for attention.
The fire got out of control and Sherwood went back to his house. When officers arrived at the park, Sherwood came back outside.
"He seemed really nervous; he seemed out of place for that time of morning. Shortly after that, we were able to determine he was likely the suspect," New Berlin Police Department Captain Brad Połczyński said.
Sherwood took a breath test and was nearly two times the legal limit at the time of his arrest, according to the criminal complaint.
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Surveillance video shows the merry-go-round engulfed in flames. Police body camera footage shows a neighbor who called police and then grabbed a bucket of water to try to put out the fire.
"I heard someone running, and I thought that was weird," the unidentified neighbor told police on body camera. "I looked out here and saw the fire and ran out here."
Biwer Park remained surrounded by police crime scene tape Friday afternoon, and the air still smelled like burning rubber and plastics hours after the fires. The merry-go-round was destroyed.
Neighbors who use the park said they want their playground back.
"It is a bummer because it is such a close playground for all the neighborhood kids," Alison Wauer, whose daughter uses the park, said.
"Just disappointed. Somebody lit our park on fire. It is really sad. I bring my kids here every weekend to play," neighbor Andrew Kuehneman said.
Sherwood was given a signature bond into the custody of his parents.
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