A Florida Man Climbed A 150-foot Tower Causing A Service Outage | He Had No Safety Gear!
A Florida man who climbed a cell tower in Miami early Wednesday has caused major damage and a service outage. He has reportedly gone up the 150-foot cell tower without any safety gear! The man has spent hours up on the tower before coming down. He was later arrested by the Miami police for disrupting the cell service. The man has apparently imposed a T-mobile worker to get through security. Once another T-Mobile employee noted him on the tower, the climber had some surprising words for him. Let’s have a look at the details of how he pulled the unbelievable stunt.
Man Behind The Climb
Police have recognized the man as Richard Smith and he is 38 years old. The cell tower he climbed is located at 29th Street and Northwest 13th Avenue in Allapattah. According to the Miami Police, the man started climbing the tower around 5:00 am on April 3, 2024. At one point, he shut down the main power at the bottom of the tower which alerted the telco. He then shut down a T-Mobile carrier.
After spending many hours up in the tower he disconnected many cables causing the service outage. The damage he did was estimated to a worth $500,000. Smith reportedly climbed the tower without any harness or climbing equipment.
A Surprising Choice of Words
While realizing the power had gone out, a T-Mobile worker switched the power back on. He then noticed a man in the tower who greeted him by saying “Hey, good morning.” After confronting the man, the T-Mobile employee soon informed the police. The trespasser has also asked the worker to join him at the top of the tower to “enjoy the view.”
Smith eventually came down at around 11:00 am, where he was arrested. Local media reports said that he was calm and shook hands with the first responders at the site. He was arrested on charges of burglary and criminal mischief, according to a police report.
Police said that Smith might have previous experiences with working on cell towers if not climbing, considering the way he moved up with no safety. He had no injuries but his pants were ripped from the attempt. Emergency services blocked off the roads around the tower, leading to disruption in the area for much of this morning.`
“After our systems alerted us that there was a service issue at this site, which we and other providers lease from a vendor, our field technician responded, determined that there was an unauthorized entry, and called local authorities. We are grateful to the Miami Police Department and Miami Fire Rescue for their response and will continue to support their investigation. Fortunately, everyone is safe, and overlapping coverage in the area will continue to ensure customers remain connected.”
T-Mobile in a statement to DCD
Also read,
