It was four days and counting on 8/14 for a man who climbed a 300-ft. Clear Channel/Tulsa broadcast tower Thursday 8/11 at 11:00 AM during a thunderstorm. It initially appeared that the man, “William,” 25, was contemplating suicide, but he later said he just needed some time. He began to show signs of fatigue early Saturday, police said.
William, who police said has a history of mental health problems, was seen on the roof of the building Wednesday but was chased off. He returned the next day, climbed the tower and made it about two-thirds of the way up. The tower is near the CC Radio studios and has been up the tower ever since, touching the ground only once and climbing up again before he could be apprehended by the Tulsa Police Department’s Special Operations Team members, Tulsa World reported.
As he continued to hold on up on the tower Friday night, rain began falling again as another storm moved in. He withstood 60 mph winds. The incident has drawn crowds at times, with families with young children watching the event unfold.
Firefighters used a ladder truck to raise a basket to William at least twice Friday — once from around 4:15 to around 4:45 p.m. and again for about 40 minutes after 10 p.m. — but he refused to be lowered to the ground.
On Thursday evening a Special Operations Team member had climbed roughly halfway to where William was on the tower and left a bag with a cell phone and water inside for him. The officer then climbed back to the ground, and the man retrieved the bag. He then climbed back up to a spot about 90 feet above the ground and talked to police on the phone.
The battery in that phone died later Thursday, and he and police negotiators have been communicating since then by hollering back and forth. William has not been given any more water and has not been given any food.
William has become a topic of conversation on Twitter, where CC Radio hosts were sending updates to their followers. Assuming he comes down safely, police probably will cite him for trespassing and take him to a mental health facility. Police say they don’t anticipate he’ll be jailed.
