Tulsa's very own version of the Marvel Comic Superhero "Spiderman" has climbed a East Tulsa Radio tower and has remained there for for almost 24 hours.
The new black version of the Superhero can be seen streaming live on several local T.V. stations web sites.
It is unclear why this Spiderman named only as William has chose this Radio Tower to reveal himself in such a way and for this length of time.
Multiple Police, Fire and Rescue teams have been at the site trying to convince the tower climber to come down, and even tried to as they say encourage him by shooting pepper balls and rubber bullets. But his Super human strength was to much for them and he remains on the tower.
Quote from: DolfanBob on August 12, 2011, 11:18:26 AM
Multiple Police, Fire and Rescue teams have been at the site trying to convince the tower climber to come down, and even tried to as they say encourage him by shooting pepper balls and rubber bullets. But his Super human strength was to much for them and he remains on the tower.
The live streaming isnt very smart, neither is shooting pepper balls.
We seem woefully unprepared in dealing with the mentally ill.
Wonder if this is all overtime, or if this is taking manpower away from the rest of the city?
EDIT: Sounds like weapons fire at the beginning of this video:
http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Man-still-on-station-tower/5rgba1kfckSTt_N2MJ6Peg.cspx
They report the siege has been reduced to around 25 officers from yesterday.
Surely he's had to go to the bathroom... don't you think??? Dude definitely has stamina.
Quote from: Salukipoke on August 12, 2011, 01:06:50 PM
Surely he's had to go to the bathroom... don't you think??? Dude definitely has stamina.
I believe they gave him a bag with a cell phone and water in it yesterday. Deduce what you will from that.
I never understand these standoff situations.
He's not coming down because
a) he's now in a confrontation... and not going to back down
b) he likes attention
Remove the spectacle and the problem solves itself... he'll get bored / need to use the bathroom / eat / etc. Right now he's ordering bags, cellphones, pizzas, room service, etc... I'd stay up there too.
Station a cop out of the view of the guy to arrest him or whatever when he comes down.
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 13, 2011, 10:20:59 PM
I never understand these standoff situations.
He's not coming down because
a) he's now in a confrontation... and not going to back down
b) he likes attention
Remove the spectacle and the problem solves itself... he'll get bored / need to use the bathroom / eat / etc. Right now he's ordering bags, cellphones, pizzas, room service, etc... I'd stay up there too.
Station a cop out of the view of the guy to arrest him or whatever when he comes down.
He's been given a bottle of water, and a gatorade a couple of days ago, and the cell phone he was sent only had a couple hours of battery (which died two days ago). Sorry, no pizza.
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 13, 2011, 10:20:59 PM
I never understand these standoff situations.
He's not coming down because
a) he's now in a confrontation... and not going to back down
b) he likes attention
Remove the spectacle and the problem solves itself... he'll get bored / need to use the bathroom / eat / etc. Right now he's ordering bags, cellphones, pizzas, room service, etc... I'd stay up there too.
Station a cop out of the view of the guy to arrest him or whatever when he comes down.
If he's truly mentally ill, then I don't think he should be arrested.
Quote from: ZYX on August 14, 2011, 01:45:15 PM
If he's truly mentally ill, then I don't think he should be arrested.
Cracks me up. People who seem to think they know about mentally ill people don't. My dad currently is in that realm. He's a handful, and I'm not the primary care-giver for him, my brother is. It physically exhausts him to have to interact with my dad.
It's too bad many of these people saying 'let him fall' and what-knot probably don't have any relatives or friends on the same level of sick-mentally as this guy likely is. Word is he walked..from Dallas to Tulsa. While that doesn't necessarily speak to his mental capacity, it does speak to his endurance.
I look at my dad and it makes me wonder if that's me when I'm 65 years old... >:(
Come on people, I'm not saying we should all sing 'cry me a river', but show a little compassion. If he indeed is mentally ill, then he'll need help. It pains me to think of the family reading such asinine comments (and I'm not speaking specifically to this forum, but other comments sections in the local media have these kinds of comments).
My question is "how is the throng of first responders at the base providing any help?"
As long as they're down there it's a "standoff"
He's not afraid of heights, he's afraid of everyone at the base of the tower.
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 14, 2011, 08:11:42 PM
My question is "how is the throng of first responders at the base providing any help?"
As long as they're down there it's a "standoff"
He's not afraid of heights, he's afraid of everyone at the base of the tower.
It's become a battle of egoes at this point.
Neither side want to let the other "win".
Force didnt work, nor did negotiating with policemen dressed as firemen, and now TPD has said they will arrest anyone who tries to talk to him.
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/clt/2547307624.html
Only $1M
Quote from: sgrizzle on August 15, 2011, 10:26:04 AM
http://tulsa.craigslist.org/clt/2547307624.html
Only $1M
OBO. Offer half that and see if he'll cave.
I should make a posting offering the other shoe for $250k
Quote from: sgrizzle on August 15, 2011, 11:07:51 AM
I should make a posting offering the other shoe for $250k
You might wait until the other shoe drops.
Quote from: patric on August 15, 2011, 10:20:36 AM
It's become a battle of egoes at this point.
Neither side want to let the other "win".
Force didnt work, nor did negotiating with policemen dressed as firemen, and now TPD has said they will arrest anyone who tries to talk to him.
And that's the issue I have with these types of standoffs.
If the police, fire, etc would just leave, it would no longer be a standoff and the guy would just come down (leave the house, whatever the situation is) on his own.
Leave one out of sight police officer down there to nab ("help") the dude when he comes down.
Win/Win for everyone
Quote from: Townsend on August 15, 2011, 11:14:43 AM
You might wait until the other shoe drops.
(http://jeffpicard.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/rim-shot-johnny-utah.jpg)
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 15, 2011, 12:44:22 PM
And that's the issue I have with these types of standoffs.
If the police, fire, etc would just leave, it would no longer be a standoff and the guy would just come down (leave the house, whatever the situation is) on his own.
Leave one out of sight police officer down there to nab ("help") the dude when he comes down.
Win/Win for everyone
They move back and start allowing the curious/stupid in closer to a situation like this and he lands on someone/'s property and we'll have oodles of lawsuits...oodles of them.
Quote from: Townsend on August 15, 2011, 01:44:38 PM
They move back and start allowing the curious/stupid in closer to a situation like this and he lands on someone/'s property and we'll have oodles of lawsuits...oodles of them.
The circus and lookie lous are there because of the circus that the police and fire have created.
Right now this guy is Tulsa's biggest attraction.
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 15, 2011, 03:05:28 PM
The circus and lookie lous are there because of the circus that the police and fire have created.
Right now this guy is Tulsa's biggest attraction.
We stare at fender benders. An unbalanced dude pulling a flying Wallenda is going to yank the folks in big time whether there are flashing lights or not.
To your second point, lots of cities have what we have. They don't have an unbalanced dude on a giant radio antenna. That will be our biggest draw for the moment.
Quote from: BKDotCom on August 15, 2011, 03:05:28 PM
The circus and lookie lous are there because of the circus that the police and fire have created.
Right now this guy is Tulsa's biggest attraction.
The first day it seemed like everyone with a badge was getting in on the spectacle until someone realized the rest of the city was wide open. The more sedate response now is an improvement, but there will still be that perception of "contempt" that will be hard to overcome.
I don't think he is going to make it
I saw TowerGuy on local Indianapolis TV station news this morning.
What's the record for someone sitting on a tower?
Quote from: dbacks fan on August 15, 2011, 05:05:47 PM
What's the record for someone sitting on a tower?
37 years (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Stylites#Atop_the_pillar)
Im sure he is picking up KMOD very well through his fillings.
http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Man-on-tower-identified/dAxKGXPHrEq3EtSAS6ochg.cspx
Fox 23 identified him as William Sturdivant. OCSN shows a good amount of history on this guy. He slowly went from being in debt to driving without a license to marijuana and other drugs.
The other day while listening to my scanner, I heard that the Washington Post wanted to have a phone interview the supervisor on the scene as well as other news sources. Here are a few other national headlines:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/15/national/main20092527.shtml
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpps/news/authorities-try-to-coax-oklahoma-man-down-from-100-foot-tower-after-five-day-perch-dpgonc-20110815-to_14581314
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/15/2011-08-15_man_perched_on_radio_tower_in_tulsa_for_4_days_refuses_to_come_down_police.html?r=news
http://www.businessinsider.com/man-continues-5-day-stand-off-with-police-on-top-of-telecom-tower-2011-8
I feel bad for the guy, he's obviously having some issues to have taken this tower sitting thing so far. I think the police and fire also need a mental evaluation for prolonging the situation and quite honestly putting the man in MORE danger than he initially put himself in. If they had just left him alone overnight on the first night he would have climbed down and the "standoff" would be over (and the wasting of city funds). Instead we now have a delirious, starving, sleep deprived, and dehydrated man who may eventually lose consciousness or his balance and fall off seriously injuring himself. Bravo.
Ain't got smile on that radio guy from around town.....
Quote from: everelusive on August 15, 2011, 06:40:14 PM
I feel bad for the guy, he's obviously having some issues to have taken this tower sitting thing so far. I think the police and fire also need a mental evaluation for prolonging the situation and quite honestly putting the man in MORE danger than he initially put himself in. If they had just left him alone overnight on the first night he would have climbed down and the "standoff" would be over (and the wasting of city funds). Instead we now have a delirious, starving, sleep deprived, and dehydrated man who may eventually lose consciousness or his balance and fall off seriously injuring himself. Bravo.
So you think doing nothing would have been the responsible thing to do? That certainly would have made it on national airwaves if your prediction that he would have just climbed down turned out to not be true. "Local officials ignore suicidal mental case in favor of just waiting for it all to go away". Not to mention the precedent set for authorities ignoring that he is trespassing on private property.
He's a mental case. People with "issues" don't trespass on public building rooftops and when confronted decide to climb a tower and take a little break. The police have an obligation to get him down for his own good as well as enforcing the law.
He just got out of DOC in April. Looks like he will be back to three hots and a cot.
Quote from: DolfanBob on August 16, 2011, 09:25:17 AM
He just got out of DOC in April. Looks like he will be back to three hots and a cot.
According to TPD, he won't go to jail. All he is guilty of is basic trespassing, a simple citation.
Rumors that he urinated off the tower. As a result he can be charged with indecent exposure. Hello sexual crimes database!
Quote from: sgrizzle on August 16, 2011, 10:48:46 AM
According to TPD, he won't go to jail. All he is guilty of is basic trespassing, a simple citation.
"Officer Jason Willingham told the New York Daily News. 'He is trespassing on Clear Channel's property and we can't just walk away.' "
Quote from: patric on August 16, 2011, 11:25:06 AM
"Officer Jason Willingham told the New York Daily News. 'He is trespassing on Clear Channel's property and we can't just walk away.' "
Yeah, but it's still just a citation.
How classy is this?
(http://images8.cpcache.com/product/564341748v2_350x350_Front_Color-PetalPink.jpg)
It's for infants.
I'm watching the live stream on KOTV's website, and they have a negotiator up with him right now on the fire truck bucket. He was holding Williams head to kinda comfort him I guess then he grabbed a water and drank it in front of William. And for the past 10 minutes, he's been throwing water at Williams face.
They just now opened the bucket door to let William in and he's been staring at it and making movements like he's exhausted.
Update: He climbed into the bucket and they took him to the surface about 15 minutes ago. Everyone applauded and cheered during his ride down. Now I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of this week.
Quote from: patric on August 16, 2011, 03:11:13 PM
How classy is this?
(http://images8.cpcache.com/product/564341748v2_350x350_Front_Color-PetalPink.jpg)
It's for infants.