A man’s decision to ascend a piece of railroad infrastructure in Fairfield this week turned out to be nothing more than a whistle stop, as he was soon brought down by local authorities.
Fairfield police arrested a man Tuesday who climbed a cantilevered railroad signal tower spanning the railroad tracks near 2200 Huntington Drive.
Officers were called at 9:30 a.m. to a report of a man climbing the tower, which is part of an active, double-tracked rail line frequented by freight and Amtrak Capitol Corridor commuter trains.
Police contacted the 50-year-old man, who they said was “perched precariously” on the tower and refused to climb down. Officers secured the area and continued to negotiate with the man, even as he began to throw rocks at them.
Officers asked the Fairfield Fire Department to bring its ladder truck, which police used to access to the tower’s platform.
“Fairfield Fire personnel did not hesitate to rush to our aid — quickly giving our officers training on how to safely use the Ladder Apparatus on the truck and providing safety belts,” Fairfield Police said in a Facebook post.
As the team made their way onto the platform, the man climbed down and surrendered to officers peacefully.
The climber, who was under post release community supervision, was subsequently booked into Solano County Jail.
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