[UPDATES] Naked Man Taunts Cops In Times Square, Jumps Off TKTS Roof
[UPDATES BELOW] The NYPD is dealing with a little situation in Times Square this morning that is the extreme opposite of a costumed character incident: A naked man is on the ledge of the red steps in Duffy Square (over the TKTS booth), strolling around and taunting the cops who are trying to talk him down.
Wesley Ahlgren has been Periscoping the interactions (the most recent video is at top; after that, it's a chronological rundown of his Tweets) and it appears that the authorities have cleared all of Duffy Square. Officers currently appear to be calmly interacting with the man, who seems very hyper, dancing at times, on the outside ledge:
LIVE on #Periscope: Crazy guy https://t.co/KTj1qsUDgf
— Wesley Ahlgren (@wahlgren) June 30, 2016
Update 9 a.m.: The man has been spitting at police and cursing them. An inflatable crash bag has been put underneath the ledge, but it appears the man is threatening to jump onto the pavement.
Update 9:06 a.m.: The man has jumped off the ledge while trying to evade police, missing the bag and landing on the pavement. Paramedics are now treating him at the scene.
Update 9:29 a.m.: Mohamed Adam, a smoothie cart operator, says the man was shouting, "NO NO NO TRUMP!" Adam told us he thought the police "were patient and did a good job."
Another witness says the incident started around 7:15 a.m. when the man was taking off his clothes at street level. Times Square Alliance security told him to put his clothes on, but the man ran up the stairs to the ledge above the TKTS booth.
"It's not funny," said bystander Alpha Balde, who sells Grayline tour bus tickets in Times Square. "He wants to jump... It's sad."
Update 10:10 a.m.: An NYPD spokesman says police responded to the scene at 7:40 a.m. and found the naked 21-year-old man incoherently yelling, spitting, and swinging his arms in a combative manner. An NYPD hostage team tried to "establish a dialogue" with the man, but "he jumped," missing an air bag that police had deployed.
The man, who police say is from Manhattan, had folded his clothes neatly in a pile nearby. Police also recovered a backpack at the scene, but would not say if it contained any drugs or contraband.
The man sustained minor injuries in the fall and was transported to Bellevue for a psychiatric evaluation. A smoothie stand operator said the man had a distraught female friend who was present for the entire ordeal. The friend was permitted to stay within the scene on the street; Bodor Sedouhy said, "She had tears running down her face," and the friend also peered into the ambulance before it left.
Sedouhy thought the police did a great job, noting that they didn't react when the man kept on spitting on them and punching and shoving them.
"Our officers showed extreme restraint," NYPD Detective Michael DeBonis said.
LIVE on #Periscope: Naked guy on Times Square https://t.co/TTQ6C2cjzK
— Wesley Ahlgren (@wahlgren) June 30, 2016
LIVE on #Periscope: Crazy naked guy Times Square https://t.co/I13Thhtvtx
— Wesley Ahlgren (@wahlgren) June 30, 2016
Update: The man has been identified as Krit McClean, who was born in Bangkok and went to Stuyvesant for high school and Columbia University for college.






