‘He fell onto the mattress’: Vancouver police explain how they got a man out of Macy’s ceiling

Vancouver police used a mattress from inside Macy’s to help bring a man safely down from the store’s ceiling after nearly two hours of efforts to get him into custody, Vancouver Police Department public information officer Kim Kapp explained.

Speaking with “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Kapp described the Sept. 30 response to Vancouver Mall, where employees reported someone moving above the ceiling and damaging tiles and light fixtures.

Officers and firefighters arrived at the second-floor store and used a ladder to investigate.

“We showed up, and it was on the second floor. It’s a two-level mall. We were on the second floor, and we showed up with fire and got a ladder up there to find that there was a man up in the ceiling area walking around on quite a large span of the store,” Kapp said.

Police move a store mattress beneath the man

Kapp explained that exposed sections of the ceiling allowed people to see the man, leaving little doubt about what employees were hearing overhead.

Officers worked to keep him in one area of the store and moved a mattress underneath him because they feared he could fall and seriously injure himself.

“They had a conveniently located mattress for us to be able to pull over there, and so in case he fell, because there was definitely an opportunity, with not a lot of footing up there, for him to fall out,” Kapp said.

Police put up a ladder, spoke with the man, and attempted to give him water. Eventually, he moved far enough down the ladder for officers to act.

“And he eventually came down the ladder a few rungs, and we were able to pull the ladder out. He fell onto the mattress, and we were able to get him into custody,” Kapp said.

Kapp explains why officers removed the ladder

Getting the man to start climbing down did not immediately end the encounter. Kapp confirmed that he had repeatedly returned to the ceiling.

“Yes, he had come down a couple of different times and then went back up,” Kapp said.

Electrical wiring, HVAC ductwork, and unstable footing made it important to get him out of the overhead space rather than allow him to retreat again.

“We really needed to get him into a safe environment. And so, getting him down out of there permanently was the solution,” Kapp said.

Kapp reported that the man was charged with second-degree burglary and malicious mischief. Police still did not know why he had entered the ceiling or how he had accessed it.

An unusual use for Macy’s merchandise

The use of a store mattress prompted KIRO hosts Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill to joke about Macy’s having the supplies police needed.

“This is not a Macy’s ad, but you can get a lot of stuff at a Macy’s,” Jake said.

Kapp emphasized the safe outcome over the unusual circumstances.

“We have to be creative sometimes, but at the end of the day, everybody went home safely,” Kapp said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3