Dallas man who climbed crane, stayed 24 hours faces criminal mischief charge, police say
A man who climbed on top of a crane at a Dallas construction site on Monday and stayed there for over 24 hours faces a felony charge, police said Thursday.
Paul Jamison, 49, was booked into the Dallas County Jail on suspicion of criminal mischief, which is a state jail felony. He’s accused of causing more than $20,000 in damages and other costs including cleaning and inspection of the crane, operated by a business called Uperio USA, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by WFAA-TV.
Jamison was taken into custody Tuesday morning and transported to a hospital for a medical evaluation before he was transferred to the jail, authorities said. His bond has been set at $10,000.
Jason Evans, a spokesperson for the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department, said the man was lowered in a harness around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday with a member of the DFR Urban Search and Rescue team. Jamison was initially taken into custody by members of a SWAT team while still on top of the crane.
Dallas Fire-Rescue was called to the scene in the 1000 block of Singleton Boulevard around 7:30 a.m. Monday. Police, including SWAT, also responded, but efforts to get the man to come down were fruitless.
The Dallas Police Department said in a news release that Jamison was about 150 feet in the air, and the preliminary investigation indicated that he was potentially suicidal. It appeared he had a self-inflicted wound on his abdomen, but police said the injury wasn’t life-threatening.
Evans said the man spent Monday night on top of the crane, but “became more cooperative with DPD personnel as the circumstances began to take their toll on him.”
Police said SWAT continued to negotiate with Jamison throughout the night, but the negotiations were paused at one point due to storms in the area.
Heavy rain moved through the area early Tuesday. It looked like the man was in the cab of the crane during the storm, according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
It’s still not clear why he climbed the crane.
Police initially said Monday that the man appeared to be in distress, WFAA reported. He stood on the boom of the crane but also climbed onto guy wires or cables at times, according to KXAS-TV.
Evans said the SWAT team was planning to bring him down, but once the man’s condition began to deteriorate, officials realized he would need a medical evaluation first. Dallas-Fire Rescue was asked to evaluate him and bring him down instead.
If you or a loved one are experiencing a crisis, call 988, the new, three-digit shortcut that will direct callers to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
