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Police Call In SWAT Team After Man Throws Things From Roof Of River North Building

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A SWAT team was called into action in River North in the middle of the day Saturday, after a man stood on the roof of a building with a metal pole in hand and started throwing things.

Police were called at 12:04 p.m. to a store in the 600 block of North Clark Street, where the man was wanted for theft and damage to property.

Officers found the man around the corner in the 100 block of West Erie Street, where he was standing on the roof of a the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China at 100 W. Erie St., holding a metal pole. The man refused to get down despite officers telling him to do so, police said.

"We saw there was a guy on this little roof right here and he had like this really long stick," said witness Jocelyn Wechter. "He was just standing up here, kind of crouching down and stuff, and he was like swinging the stick."

The man grew irate and started throwing rocks, bottles, and glass from the roof, police said.

The SWAT team was dispatched to the scene, and the street was closed while a SWAT team and mounted officers moved in. The SWAT team got access to the roof to detain the man without incident.

No one was reported injured, but the man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for evaluation, police said.

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