Man in Seattle tree comes down, ending 24-hour standoff

Picture shows a paramedic trying to convince a man in a red hat to get down from an 80-foot tree in Seattle. (Seattle Fire Department)

The unidentified man who climbed an 80-foot sequoia tree in Seattle came down Wednesday after an unusual standoff with police that drew national attention.

Despite hours of police coaxing, the man refused to leave his perch near the top of the tree in downtown Seattle. It is unclear why the man climbed the tree or his mental state, but he was taken away by authorities on a stretcher.

The man, appeared disheveled with a large beard, longer hair and a red knit hat he dropped during the day, has also ripped multiple branches from the tree and tossed them at the ground and at negotiators, who caught many of them.

The standoff prompted a trendin Twitter hashtag #ManInTree.

The man's treetop sitting has also attracted onlookers on the street below and a local TV station livestreamed video of the man online as he dozed, shouted and knocked around a stick.

"It is quite a spectacle, honestly," police spokesman Patrick Michaud told The Seattle Times. Hillary Clinton was staying at a nearby hotel, Q13Fox.com reported.

Michaud said police want to make sure the man can get down without hurting himself or someone else and added that rushing it could create a dangerous situation. Police have said he appears to be suffering from a crisis and has been yelling intermittently.

Seattle police say when authorities arrived at the base of the lofty conifer next to Macy's department store, the man refused to speak with them and threw an apple at medics.

The man, appearing disheveled with a large beard, longer hair and a red knit hat he dropped during the day, has also ripped multiple branches from the tree and tossed them at the ground and at negotiators, who caught many of them.

The man scrambled down toward the bottom just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, but soon made his way back up, snapping branches along the way.

Seattle Department of Transportation officials will review the health of the tree, believed to have been there since the 1970s, once the incident is resolved, police said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report