Burrito ends standoff between man perched in tower crane and police

Updated Jun 26, 2015

A homeless man claiming he just wanted “to be heard,” took up residence inside a tower crane Sunday night in San Jose, kicking off a standoff with police that stretched into Monday morning.

According to a report from the San Jose Mercury News, 39-year-old Alam Skandar climbed nine stories, settled into the crane’s cab and refused to leave.

At one point, he shouted to police urging him to come down “I’m homeless. I haven’t been fed. I’m cold.” Only at the promise of a burrito did Skandar climb down, ending a 14-hour standoff.

In that time, a crowd gathered below, including many who applauded his actions, saying they drew attention to San Jose’s homeless problem. Officials tell the paper 6,556 people are homeless in Santa Clara county, enough to dub it a “crisis.”

Skandar told the paper he decided to climb the crane after noticing an American flag waving at the top of the machine.