Cops rappel down building to stop FBI suspect from jumping: sources

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN (PIX11) — A man in Midtown Manhattan threatened to jump out of a 31st-story window after FBI agents showed up at his apartment with a warrant Wednesday, police sources told PIX11 News. 

The standoff began around 8:40 a.m. on West 56th Street. For a time, the man sat on a ledge near a shattered window with both legs dangling outside the building. The man was wanted in connection to a financial fraud investigation, according to police.

“They found the male in crisis. He was wanted by another agency, and instead of going peacefully with that agency, he thought of taking his own life,” said NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey. “That male hung out that window, one foot out, of the 31st floor of a high-rise in New York City.”

The suspect eventually barricaded himself inside the apartment as a team of NYPD negotiators in the hallway worked to safely end the standoff. 

Just before 5 p.m., officers changed tactics, scaling down the building from one story above where the suspect was barricaded, then entering through the broken window. Minutes later the suspect was taken away in an ambulance. 

Mayor Eric Adams spoke to reporters at the scene as officers worked to deescalate the situation. “The NYPD is patient and doing the job. That’s why the are the finest,” Adams said.

Source: WFLA