Ho ho, oh no: Man sought by police goes down chimney and gets stuck

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man trying to escape from police shimmied down the chimney.

And got stuck.

The man fled onto a rooftop, channeling what the Fall River Police Department described as “the essence of the seasonal icon,” but he ended up needing to be rescued by the detectives who were pursuing him after getting wedged inside a chimney Tuesday evening.

Body cam video from the Fall River Police Department shows a detective shouting, “Hey he’s on the roof. Get down here!” Detectives were alerted moments later by a bystander that a man was “screaming” inside a nearby chimney. Incredulous detectives climbed up the roof and peered down into the shaft with a flashlight to see the man stuck. “You’re an idiot,” one of them said.

Detectives called in firefighters who had to carefully knock out bricks to free the man. “Due to his Santa-antics (the man) was transported to a local hospital out of caution,” police said.

The man remained in the lockup Thursday on drug charges and other charges from outstanding warrants. His court-appointed attorney didn’t immediately return an email message. Another man sought by police was seen jumping off the roof and over a fence, escaping capture.

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Sharp reported from Portland, Maine.