Two messages from the Los Angeles Fire Department and one YouTube video tell at least part of the story of what happened at West Bethel Presbyterian Church on La Brea Blvd. Sunday afternoon.

Shortly after 8am, Los Angeles Fire sent out a “tweet” reading: “Person at the top of a church threatening to jump.” It wasn’t until 3:17pm, over 7 hours later, that they sent an update: “Person down from cross & in custody.”

During the interim, La Brea Blvd. was shut down for a portion between Wilshire and Olympic, while police and fire crews set up “crash pads” on the sidewalk below the man. According to an eyewitness, the unidentified “jumper” defecated and rubbed feces on himself and the church cross. The video above shows part of the event.

KNX 1070 reports on the how it all came to an end:

Members of the police Special Weapons and Tatics team climbed a rickety ladder propped against the church cross, meeting the man halfway. The man was taken into custody and would likely be placed in a pscychiatric hospital for observation.

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