Police Talk Down Man Who Climbed to the Top of a 290-Foot Tall Construction Crane in Southeast Portland

Portland police talked down a man in a mental health crisis who had climbed to the top of a construction crane in Southeast Portland, staying there for more than five hours.

After speaking to police by phone, the man climbed down the crane on his own shortly after 6 pm.

The man's climb and threat to jump drew a large police presence to the intersection of Southeast Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Ash Street. KATU-TV reporter Kellee Azar first reported the scene. She said construction workers told her he was not supposed to be on the equipment.

Video footage from KATU, WW's news partner, shows the man perched precariously at 290 feet off the ground, on the very top of the crane.

Police were unable to make contact with the man as he climbed to the top and then over to the outer edge of the crane, traversing narrow beams from a frightening height.

Firefighters said that they were unable to rescue the man because they do not have equipment that reaches that height.

Portland police sent a Special Emergency Reaction Team and Crisis Negotiation Team to the area to "assist Central Precinct officers with a person in crisis."

Azar reports that police response teams tried to coax the man down with a loud speaker—"talking about support that there is." He did not come down and police later climbed up the crane to reach him.

From atop the tower, Portland police talked with the man for over two hours until he agreed to climb back down.

If you are in crisis, call the Multnomah County mental health hotline at 503-988-4888.