Video shows police officers saving man from radio tower hundreds of feet in the air
Police in southeastern Minnesota saved a man from a 250-foot radio tower this month, and a video captured shows the daring rescue.
Authorities made the rescue in Eagan, about 16 miles southeast of Minneapolis. The footage was released on Oct. 17, but the rescue was made on Oct. 10, according to a news release issued by the Eagan Police Department and Storyful, where the footage was shared.
Neighbors called Eagan police around 5:51 a.m. on Oct. 10 for a welfare check. They told police they heard someone yelling for help, according to the press release. When officers arrived, they found a 51-year-old man at the top of the radio tower.
Watch officer rescue man from radio tower
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To the rescue
Eagan Fire and Dakota County Special Operations Team (SOT) were called for help. An SOT officer climbed to the top of the tower and rescued the man by rappelling him down.
According to Eagan police, the man was "in a mental health crisis and had been exposed to the cold weather." He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Authorities were not able to offer any updates on the man's condition Wednesday afternoon.
The Rosemount Police Department also helped that day. Rosemount Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom said Wednesday afternoon that the man was in the early stages of being hypothermic when he was rescued.
"In order to access the tower, he had to climb over a fence that included barbed wire across the top of the fenced sections," Dahlstrom said.
The six-minute body cam video of the rescue shows an officer climbing the tower to reach the 51-year-old man, securing himself to the tower so he didn't fall. According to television station KVRR, a Dakota County Special Operations Team member was also there and used high-angle rope rescue techniques to climb the tower and save the man.
The body cam footage was shot from the perspective of a police officer helping with the rescue.
“Alright, let’s take a break,” the officer said in the video, briefly resting his arms on the tower’s bars before resuming his climb.
'You're doing awesome buddy'
As the officer inched closer to the man, he told him “You’re doing awesome, buddy" and reminded the man to keep breathing.
As the wind picked up, the man appeared to yell, prompting the officer to comfort him and let him know they were doing everything they could to get him down to safety.
The video also showed the man clinging and attached to a rescue team member.
The task seemed to have worn out the officer involved, who said his arms were “dead” and later added “I need an IV bag” once he was closer to the ground.
“I don’t need to work out for the next two months,” the officer said at the end of the video.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.