Posted on 03/23/2016 8:06:20 AM PDT by jacknhoo
SEATTLE - Police and firefighters spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday morning trying to coax down a man who climbed to the top of downtown Seattle's iconic 80-foot-tall Sequoia tree and has refused to come down.
Crews brought a ladder truck to the scene, at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Stewart Street, after receiving reports of a man stuck in the upper branches of the tall tree, just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The fire truck's ladder was extended to within a few feet of the man, then negotiators climbed up and tried to speak with him.
So far he has refused to come down, spending the entire night in the treetop.
Earlier, the man threw an apple at medics who came to his rescue. The man, with a long beard and wool cap, was also seen tossing small branches, orange peels, pine cones and other materials at rescuers and claimed to be armed with a knife, Seattle Police said. He later requested a pack of Camel Crush cigarettes.
A KOMO news team at the scene said the man appeared agitated, shouting and "flipping the bird" at spectators. Surrounding witnesses questioned the man's mental health, while others speculated he may be high on drugs.
By hour four, the man had stripped the top of the tree bare. He tore the limbs off and hurled them at officers and firefighters. Even as darkness fell Tuesday evening, the man remain perched at the top. He was still there Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m.
At one point, the man climbed about halfway down the tree, paused, then climbed all the way back to the top, breaking off new branches during the trip. His behavior alternates between periods of quiet calm and agitated yelling.
A drone zoomed by during the early morning hours, but it quickly left and has not returned.
Meanwhile on the Internet, #ManInTree has gone viral on Twitter becoming a trending hashtag nationwide. An anonymous user even created, and is tweeting from, the Twitter handle "@Man_in_Tree".
The iconic tree was planted at the site in the 1970s and was the focus of an ambitious effort to save it about six years ago after its condition deteriorated. Seattle DOT officials say they will review the health of the tree once the ordeal is over with.
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This is a developing news story. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
Just leave him up there, either he dies of thirst or he comes down on his own.
Yes, the health of the tree is paramount. the guy in the tree, not so much. This is Seattle after all so he’s pretty normal.
A charged fire hose could have given them a new attitude. Hose them down right before sunset. Wake ‘em up early in the am with another hosing. Maybe wet them down a few times during working hours. It’s all good.
Obviously not a true tree-hugger.
I'll go over with my RedRider BB gun and get him down. Low cost, effective and fun.
from the article, “while others speculated he may be high on drugs.”
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He’s definitely “high” alright.
Wow, I’ll have to give Butterfly some credit:
Tax redirection[edit]
In 2003, Hill became a proponent of tax redirection, resisting payment of about $150,000 in federal taxes, donating that money to after-school programs, arts and cultural programs, community gardens, programs for Native Americans, alternatives to incarceration, and environmental protection programs. She said:
“ I actually take the money that the IRS says goes to them and I give it to the places where our taxes should be going. And in my letter to the IRS I said: ‘I’m not refusing to pay my taxes. I’m actually paying them but I’m paying them where they belong because you refuse to do so.’[20]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Butterfly_Hill
Bonobos doing what bonobos do.
Agree. Man-child throwing a tantrum. Leave him (no pun intended) and let him hang out in the tree, unless he’s endangering passersby; then show him the chainsaw - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...
"Hill lived on two 6-by-6-foot (1.8 by 1.8 m) platforms for 738 days. Luna's trunk was her sidewalk and exercise treadmill. Hill learned many survival skills while living in Luna, such as "seldom washing the soles of her feet, because the sap helped her feet stick to the branches better."[10] Hill used solar-powered cell phones for radio interviews, became an "in-tree" correspondent for a cable television show, and hosted TV crews to protest old-growth clear cutting.[11] With ropes, Hill hoisted up survival supplies brought by an eight-member support crew.
To keep warm, Hill wrapped herself tight in a sleeping bag, leaving only a small hole for breathing. For meals, Hill used a single-burner propane stove.[12] Throughout her ordeal, Hill weathered freezing rains and 40 mph (64 km/h) winds from El Niño,[12] helicopter harassment, a ten-day siege by company security guards, and attempted intimidation by angry loggers.[5][8]"--wikipedia
Because my family was directly impacted by mental illness, I have been teaching this 12-week family education course for the past 10 years: www.nami.org/f2f
Maybe he’s trying to catch a squirrel.
Use shotguns loaded with bean bags. Or a tranquilizer dart.
Yeah, but you could out somebody's eye out with that.
Leave him be. He will eventually come down, alive or dead, in one piece or incrementally.
Out of range, I think, 80 feet in a 70-80 degree trajectory from below.
Frasier
None of the things she lists are proper recipients of tax money.
Tell him that he is going to be arrested for felony attention whoring and the bill for tying so many emergency services from people who have real emergencies.
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