Photo: Tri-County Regional Jail
Police engaged in a standoff with a man who evaded officers by scaling a 45-foot tree.
The standoff lasted more than 13 hours.
It happened in London, Ohio, between Columbus and Dayton.
The London Division of Police issued a release detailing the encounter with the “emotionally disturbed suspect” on Wednesday (June 23).
Police responded to a report of a vehicle crashed on the railroad tracks on South Main Street in the afternoon. The driver apparently abandoned the car, but officers soon found him when they “heard a commotion nearby.”
It was William Taylor, 40. He man was “screaming” and had “climbed onto a roof of a residence and then up a pine tree where he stayed, approximately 45 feet above ground,” near West 1st Street at Madison Road, the release states.
Police say Taylor “was not responsive” to officers who attempted to negotiate with him. Eventually, Special Agents from the Columbus FBI Field Office arrived to help conduct negotiations to get Taylor down from the tree safely, London police said. It took more than 13 hours “on and off” to negotiate with Taylor, who eventually lit fire to the tree with a lighter. The standoff also impacted electrical service to nearby residents and a manufacturing facility for a few hours because the tree is near electrical wires, the police department said.
Taylor was arrested when he finally climbed down. He’s charged with inducing panic, aggravated trespassing, arson, and obstructing official business. He’s being held at the Tri-County Jail and will be arraigned in the Madison County Municipal Court, according to authorities.