Crime & Safety

Parking Garage Dangler Arrested, Hospitalized

Not-so-happy ending for a man, smiley face painted on his back, who hangs from a downtown Santa Monica parking structure

A man dangled outside parking structure No. 7 from as high as the fourth floor Monday afternoon near . He tagged hearts on the garage walls and "yelled and screamed stuff" before police took him into custody and placed him on a psychiatric hold.

A smiley face painted on his back, he clung to the outside walls of the parking garage between the third and fourth floors facing Broadway Street, in a spot where he could have easily fallen or jumped," said Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis.

The scene was a spectacle for passersby. The street was closed to cars and pedestrians. Here's how Patch commenter Michele Miller Baron described the episode:

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[He] wrote little hearts on the structure. Sadly people were cheering him on. We left because it was upsetting to my eight year old daughter. 

The dangler eventually stopped drawing the hearts and dismounted. He was taken into custody on suspicion of felony vandalism and was hospitalized.

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