Man Comes Down From Bridge After 24 Hours
A man climbed to the top of a 180-foot-tall bridge in Long Beach and sat there for more than 24 hours, forcing police to close the structure until he decided to come down Wednesday, authorities said.
Ralph John Whaley, 28, descended from the Gerald Desmond Bridge about 6 a.m. after refusing earlier pleas from police and relatives, said Police Lt. Ken Schack. He was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for 72 hours’ psychiatric observation, Schack said.
Police closed the bridge to traffic, forcing commuters to take alternate routes. Whaley had climbed to the bridge’s pinnacle twice in 1989, police said.
He told officers Wednesday he had not been contemplating suicide, but he gave no explanation for his behavior.
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