San Francisco:
A man's long climb to the top levels of a skyscraper in downtown San Francisco ended with officers taking him into custody after he displayed a small American flag on the side of the building.
The San Francisco Police Department identified the man as Daniel Goodwin, 54, otherwise known as "SpiderDan," who had previously climbed the Sears Tower in Chicago.
Mr. Goodwin was cited with two misdemeanors and later released from a police station in downtown San Francisco.
A press release on Mr. Goodwin's web site said he made today's ascent to "call attention to our nation's continued vulnerability to attacks of terrorism upon our skyscrapers" and to "increase public awareness of cancer."
The incident shut down portions of Mission Street in the city, but the disruption caused no accidents or other problems, the police said.
The police estimated that the climb began around 2:15 p.m. Pacific time.
It ended roughly three hours later after Mr. Goodwin held still and took several minutes to unfurl the flag.
People along a ledge above him assisted him with the flag's placement by holding it in place while officers waited below Mr. Goodwin on another level of the building's uppermost areas.
Officers made no move to pull Mr. Goodwin down as he slowly descended to the ledge. After stepping onto the roof, his hands were put behind his back, and officers led him into the building.
Mr. Goodwin was described by the police as "cooperative" when being taken into custody.
The spectacle echoed the dramatic climbs of Alain Robert, a Frenchman known for scaling tall buildings.
He ascended
The New York Times building in June 2008 and displayed a banner reading "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week" near the top.
On the same day, Renaldo Clarke, 32, of Brooklyn, also climbed The Times building.
Both were arrested after reaching the roof.
On Friday, Mr. Robert pleaded not guilty to charges related to the ascent of 57-story building in downtown Sydney, the Associated Press reported.