MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - A man who climbed a pole in Miramar and refused to come down—mirroring a similar incident he staged two years ago—is now safely back on the ground and in custody, officials say.
An adult male created a perch seven-and-a-half feet up on a crosswalk sign on State Road 7 and Miramar Parkway just after 7:30a.m. Monday.
Miramar Police said he was having a mental episode.
“Around 7:30a.m. we were called that there was a subject who was bobbing in and out of traffic and eventually climbed the pole. We realized that he was having a mental health crisis,” said Janice McIntosh with the Miramar Police Department.
The repeat offender identified as Todd Boothe is familiar to police as he was involved in a similar incident at the same intersection in 2023 when he climbed onto a fire truck and refused to come down for hours.
“It’s not the first time that he has done this. We believe that part of it is attention, but we also know that it’s coupled with the mental health crisis that he’s dealing with and so today he will be arrested, but with a code for mental health,” said McIntosh.
A similar standoff also played out in 2021 after he climbed a traffic light post at a busy intersection in South Beach and sat on top of the light before he fled on foot. The stunt brought traffic in the area to a halt for several hours. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence in that case.
7News cameras captured Boothe alternating between squatting position and standing on the pole. He was seen waving and chucking up the peace sign at onlookers, topping it all of with a quick dance break.
Crisis negotiators arrived at the scene and worked with local police to try and get him down.
He did not pose a risk to the public or himself, aside from the mere concern that he may slip and fall.
“He was there for two-and-a-half hours, three hours it’s very hot up there and I think he just decided to come down,” said McIntosh.
After several hours, Boothe surrendered without incident. It’s unclear what charges he will be facing.
Aside from a slight onlooker delay and a minimal lane closure, traffic in the area was not impeded.
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