CLEVELAND — A video being shared on social media appears to show a man climbing up the old lift bridge in the Flats West Bank in Cleveland.
The post has been shared on the @imfromcleveland account on TikTok as a repost of someone else's video. TikTok is just one of the places this is being shared.
THE CLAIM
You can see the comments on the post are questioning who this person is and suggesting it might be an inspector at work. Let's VERIFY what we know about this video.
SOURCES
Our sources are:
- The video's original poster, Becky Ray
- Lieutenant Michael Norman from the Cleveland Division of Fire
- Sergeant Wilfredo Diaz with the Cleveland Division of Police
- Cleveland city spokesperson Tyler Sinclair
EXPLANATION
We got in touch with Becky by text message, and she confirmed for us that the video is real and that this happened at 8:49 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, 2024.
She shared a second clip of the person on the bridge with us, and told us she filmed it from Glamper on the East Bank of the Flats. She took notice "after people started gasping and pointing and pulling out their phones."
According to Ray, they soon saw fire trucks coming over the bridge, and she saw comments on social media saying the person was arrested once he climbed back down. We reached out to the city of Cleveland to ask if this was a trespasser or a city worker, along with what else they could tell us about the incident.
Norman, with the fire department, told us the following:
"Cleveland Fire responded at 8:44 with a Rope Rescue response sending Rescue Squads 1 & 2, Engine 4, Ladder 4, Battalion 4 and the on-duty Assistant Chief. Narrative states a male climbed up a non-functioning lift bridge next to Shooters. We waited as the climber descended on his own and was placed in police custody."
Norman said crews cleared the scene at 10:37 p.m., but he couldn’t tell us anything about who the person is.
Diaz told us the following details from the police department:
"A 24-year-old male was detained at the scene, not arrested. A police report was created; this incident remains under investigation and no charges have been filed."
We got confirmation from Cleveland city spokesperson Tyler Sinclair that the bridge being climbed in the video is on private property, and not under the city's control. As for whether the person is an inspector, he said, "We have no knowledge at this time that the individual is a City employee."
ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that this is a legitimate video of a man climbing the old and inoperable lift bridge in the Flats, but we can't tell you if the person is an inspector.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Even if he is, though, it's safe to say he wasn't supposed to be there — on that bridge, at the time — based on the fire department's response and him being taken into custody when he finally climbed down.
