Man perched on construction crane shut down traffic near downtown Austin

Morning traffic on South Congress Avenue just south of downtown Austin was shut down for a few hours Monday as firefighters, police and EMS crews tried to coax a man down from a construction crane.

After Austin police SWAT officers were dispatched to the scene, the man came down from the crane and was taken into custody around 8:40 a.m.

The man, who was not identified by police, was charged with criminal mischief and trespass, said Austin police Sgt. Mark Breckenridge.

Around 6:50 a.m., the Austin Fire Department had reported via Twitter that emergency personnel were “working to get man down from construction crane. At this point he is declining to come down.”

Firefighters earlier in the morning had put out a fire at the construction site on South Congress at 4:40 am when they noticed the man on the crane, police said.

Austin Fire Division Chief Palmer Buck said the man on the crane had started the fire in some vegetation on the construction site. Fire officials said it’s not unusual for crews to respond to fires at construction sites, which are typically caused by burning trash.

Last month, a massive fire destroyed a condo project and adjacent occupied apartment buildings on Banister Lane in South Austin. Fire investigators earlier this month said the blaze was so intense that they have been unable to determine a cause in that incident.

The man on the crane Monday morning was wearing a construction vest and a hat but did not work at site, police said. Around 5:20 a.m., he started throwing debris at firefighters, who then called police.

Austin police shut down traffic on South Congress around the site, which is in the 1200 block, an area between James Street and Academy Drive.

When SWAT arrived at the scene, they stayed on the ground and negotiated with the man who said he wanted to see his ex-wife and kids, police said. The man, who also demanded cigarettes and a lighter, would not give police contact information for his children or ex-wife, Breckenridge said.

Once the man left his perch on the crane, he was evaluated by a crisis team for emotional distress, police said.

They said they didn’t know whether he had broken into the construction site or if some part of site had been left open.

Re Rescue Task Force Academy and S. Congress. Firefighters @Austin_Police and @ATCEMS on scene working to get man down from construction crane. At this point he is declining to come down. S. Congress is shut down between James and Academy. pic.twitter.com/zzk6sRff9q

— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) October 21, 2019