Man hospitalized after climbing onto grain bin

Local law enforcement responded to a man who climbed atop a grain bin Monday night south of Washington on Highway 1.

Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar said deputies, city police officers and firefighters talked to the man for just over an hour and convinced him to come down. The Washington Fire Department took its ladder truck to the scene and helped the man down from the grain bin. Dunbar said the subject climbed onto the firefighters? ladder on his own.

Dunbar said the individual was transported to the Washington County Hospital and Clinics, and then to another hospital for an evaluation. An ambulance was waiting for the man at the scene, staged about a mile north of the site. Dunbar said about five of his deputies were there and a Washington Police officer.

?We felt the less people on site the better,? he said.

The authorities did not have their flashing lights or sirens turned on. Dunbar explained that they do that when they don?t want to upset the person they are responding to.   

Dunbar said that the subject did not own the grain bin that he climbed onto.

?He was just walking down the road, saw it and climbed on it,? Dunbar said.

He said the subject had called dispatch himself to report that he had climbed up the grain bin.

One of the city officers trained in negotiations began discussion with the subject. Dunbar said when he arrived, the subject recognized him and they began talking. He said that when the subject came down, officers had found a friend of the subject?s and he was on his way to the scene. Dunbar also said a couple firemen knew the subject. He believes the situation was resolved the way it was because of the familiarity between the subject and many of the people on scene.   

?He knew he needed some help and he expressed that to us and we expressed that we would get him some help, so he stepped into the bucket,? Dunbar said.

Dunbar said that a person could be charged for attempted suicide but the county has no plans to charge the individual involved in Monday?s incident.

?We just want to make sure the person gets the help he needs,? he said. ?We get these type of calls on and off. It is not unusual.?