A man that had climbed to the top of the WGML radio tower off Rolland Street this morning has been brought down safely shortly before 2 p.m. today.
According to Hinesville Police Chief, Bill Kirkendall, officers responded to a call of a man shouting for help around 6 am this morning. When officers arrived they found a man perched on top of the WGML radio tower screaming for help.
The man's mother and other family members were brought to the scene to assist police. An officer made several attempts of talking the man down but was unsuccessful.
The Hinesville Fire and police Department made several attempts to bring the man down safely from the 200 foot tower. Around noon, it appeared as if Lt. Brittany Fleming, a crisis management negotiator with the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, was making progress as she spoke to the unidentified man from the bucket of the Hinesville Fire department's ladder truck.
However, the man suddenly broke off the conversation with Fleming and began to climb up the tower out of her reach. Shortly before 2 p.m. the man climbed into the bucket of the ladder truck with two first responders. The man was alllowed some time to decompress before he was was lowered down to waiting officers who took him to a local medical facility.
Chief Kirkendall said the man appeared to be experiencing a breakdown. No demands or negotiations were made to end the standoff.
The Bradwell Institute parking lot adjacent to the radio station had been sealed off as well as Gause Street. However, students were able to attend class.
Read the earlier story here: https://coastalcourier.com/news/man-climbs-top-radio-tower/