Officers with the Upland Police Department responded to an unusual rescue at a hospital Monday night.
At around 9 p.m., officers received a report of a person who had broken through the ceiling tiles in the restroom of the emergency room at the San Antonio Regional Hospital.
The man, who officers believed to be high on drugs, caused $5,000 in damages to the ceiling, electrical, and HVAC system.
"It’s not a typical call that we were on but after talking to the crews they were there to provide some emotional support to the patient," said Christopher Prater of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "They were able to convince him that everything was going to be ok and we were there to help him."
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Surveillance footage showed that the man had entered the restroom but did not come out.
“Due to the extremely confined space, maze of wires, plumbing, HVAC lines, etc., officers had to use a pole camera to look into the ceiling,” the department said in a social media post.
The man had appeared to be stuck on top of a large HVAC unit and wedged under a steel beam in complete darkness.
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"We know he was able to make access to the ceiling space through a drop ceiling and was wedged in between the material and ducting space," Prater said.
The man was then arrested for felony vandalism.
“Fortunately, the SARH ER staff are the best around and worked around this incident, preventing any interruptions to Emergency Room services,” the department said.
