Three out-of-state men are charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct after accessing the roof and allegedly climbing the spiers of the AT&T building in downtown Nashville, police say.
The building, known locally as the Batman Building, is the tallest office tower in Tennessee.
A man called 911 Sunday around 4:40 p.m. after noticing three people were upstairs in the building, police said in a news release.
“We’re looking at the AT&T building and there are three people at the top of the AT&T building, like on the tower sections,” the man told the dispatcher. “They don’t look like they should be there and it’s a Sunday so I can’t imagine they’re working but it looks very strange.”
Nashville officers and a police helicopter responded to the building.
“Responding officers from the Central Precinct used binoculars to spot one of the men next to a spire of the building and later saw another lying on the circular AT&T logo,” police said.
By the time officers reached the roof and the helicopter arrived, the men were gone. Officers then initiated a floor-by-floor search of the building and eventually found the men huddled in a single bathroom stall.
“The officer ordered them, at gunpoint, to show their hands under the stall door. The three complied and were taken into custody,” police said.
The men, a 26-year-old from Chicago, a 26-year-old from Georgia and a 20-year-old from California, were each charged with misdemeanor assault, aggravated trespassing and disorderly conduct. The Georgia man was also charged with possession of burglary tools after officers found a crowbar and screwdriver in his backpack, police said.
Officers also found several cameras, including a GoPro.
The men told officers they entered the building through an unsecured door.
“One of the men told officers they heard the AT&T building was the best place to see Nashville, so they went inside and climbed the stairs to the roof,” police said.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police arrest three after men climb the spiers of AT&T buildings
