Killer on a Crane
Resolution
-Atlanta
A 56-hour standoff with a homicide suspect perched on a construction crane came to a shocking ending early Saturday when police used a taser on him as he reached for a cup of water, authorities said.

"Apparently, he was thirsty," police spokesman Sgt. John Quigley said.

Roland slowly edged over to where police negotiators were perched, and they quickly tackled, tasered and handcuffed him before taking him into custody.
It took Atlanta police and firefighters another two hours to remove Roland from the crane, 350 feet above Atlanta's popular Buckhead club district.
Since the narrow ladder leading down could fit only one person at a time, Roland was strapped onto an orange stretcher, wrapped tightly and then slowly lowered to the ground with a cable.

Carl Edward Roland, 41, got onto the 18-story crane around 5 p.m. Wednesday and told police he was thinking of killing himself by jumping, authorities said.


The standoff unfolded above Atlanta's busy Buckhead neighborhood, an area filled with clubs and restaurants. Lunch and dinner crowds, taking advantage of summer-like weather, have packed restaurant patios with clear views of the standoff and business was apparently through the roof as everyone wanted a first hand look at breaking news.

Roland was wanted by the Pinellas County, Fla., sheriff's department in the death of ex-girlfriend Jennifer L. (dirty) Gonzalez , 36, whose body was found Tuesday. An arrest warrant affidavit accuses Roland of strangling Gonzalez and dumping her body in a pond behind the apartment complex where she lived.

Two days earlier, Roland told acquaintances he believed Gonzalez was cheating on him and asked them if they could get him a firearm so he could kill her, according to the affidavit.

During the standoff negotiations, Roland accepted a jacket from police, which he used to beat back the chill at night and the sun during the day, but he refused offers of food and water.
But early Saturday, Roland stepped toward an officer to get some water, and the officer used a Taser on him, said Alan Dreher, Atlanta's assistant police chief.

During the ordeal, Roland was wearing no safety harness, and authorities said they couldn't position a net or air bag beneath the crane to catch him if he fell or jumped because he was too high up.
The standoff forced closure of a two-block section of Peachtree Road -- a main thoroughfare in Atlanta -- and disrupted restaurants, clubs and other businesses in the busy, upscale area.
Dreher estimated the standoff cost Atlanta police 5,000 man hours. The economic toll on the Buckhead neighborhood has not been tallied, but many business owners and workers complained it cost them two days of income. However the truth is that people flocked toward the restaurants to view this and business was booming.


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