Man Arrested for Scaling Calif. Skyscraper

(CBS/AP)  San Francisco police arrested a man who scaled the exterior of a 58-story downtown skyscraper Monday and unfurled an American flag at the top.

Police told KCBS radio that the man was veteran skyscraper climber Dan Goodwin. The 54-year-old Lake Tahoe resident's other climbing credits include Chicago's Sears Tower.

Goodwin used suction cups but no ropes to scale Millennium Tower, a 645-foot residential building overlooking San Francisco Bay. He ignored orders to stop climbing, police said.

Click here for CBS 5's video report.

Goodwin was too high to reach by the time firefighters arrived at the building, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

Goodwin reached the top just before 5:30 p.m., about three hours after he began. He affixed an American flag to the building before surrendering to waiting authorities.

In a statement posted on his website, Goodwin said he climbed the building to call attention to what he described as the ongoing vulnerability of skyscrapers to terrorist attacks.

He also said he wanted to inspire patients battling cancer, which he said he overcame to continue climbing.

Goodwin's hobby has earned him a couple nicknames, including "Spider Dan" and "Skyscraperman," according to KCBS.

[Resin-Smoker]

My question is: If he fell would the owners of the building be liable for his death? (considering how sue happy everyone in the US is)

I tend to think that the fear of this alone, would be enough for the owners to have him arested for trespassing.

[steeleBear]

And he did what harm, exactly? Oh wait, this was in the People's Republic of San Francisco. He harmed the public good by causing a spectacle and engaging in hooliganism.