Crime & Safety

Man Climbs Brooklyn Bridge Cables, Halting Rush Hour Traffic: NYPD

Two lanes were closed for about an hour Thursday as emergency responders coaxed the man down, officials said.

A man climbed the cables on the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday morning, according to police.
A man climbed the cables on the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday morning, according to police. (Caroline Spivack/Patch)

BROOKLYN, NY — A man tried to climb the Brooklyn Bridge Thursday morning and brought rush hour traffic to a halt as emergency responders coaxed him down, according to police.

Two Brooklyn-bound lanes of the bridge were shut down about 7:30 a.m. as emergency responders rushed to the bridge, according to the NYPD.

The responders were able to convince the man, who was climbing up the bridge's cables, to come down, an NYPD spokesperson said.

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Video shows several emergency responders scaling the bridge to approach the man.

"Emergency services were able to talk to him and get him to come down voluntarily," the spokesperson told Patch.

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The man was taken into police custody and was brought to Methodist Hospital to be examined, according to police.

All lanes on the bridge reopened around 8:30 a.m., though police said delays would still be expected, according to NYPD alerts.

It was unclear the man's motivation for scaling the bridge.


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