A Lakewood police car and two workers were accidentally sprayed with hot tar, and a Cleveland man was taken into custody with three arrest warrants, after an incident on Madison Avenue on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the police report, it all happened at around 4 p.m. when patrol officer Gary Crumley spotted a dump truck and trailer blocking the westbound lane of traffic on Madison Avenue, near W. 117th Street. 

He asked a worker to move the truck, then another worker, Frankie Eden, disconnected a hose and a “large amount of pressurized tar” sprayed Eden and another man, the police car and the landscaping at the Madison Gardens apartments. 

When officers ran the names of the workers through a statewide criminal database, they learned that Eden had three warrants out for his arrest — for aggravated menacing, telephone harassment and failure to appear in court for a traffic violation. 

The 21-year-old Cleveland man was turned over to the Cleveland Police Department.

The Lakewood police car was taken out of service. The company was cited for damage to property.

“It does underscore how you never know what situation we will face,” said police chief Timothy Malley, referring to the incident. “Sometimes there are situations you have never seen before, but in this business you are never surprised.”