COLORADO SPRINGS — A man was brought back to the ground safely after climbing a high-voltage electrical tower and staying there for more than eight hours Monday.

The man was spotted climbing the tower in the area of Academy Boulevard and Galley Road around 4:20 p.m. Monday. When officers arrived, the man had climbed to the top of the tower and was threatening to harm himself, according to police. Colorado Springs Utilities de-energized the tower so the man would not electrocute himself.

Emergency personnel talked with the man for several hours in an attempt to bring him down safely.

Throughout the day, the person threatened to grab the power lines or jump from the tower.

A portion of Galley Road was closed for several hours. Police asked the public to avoid the area as they spoke to the man to bring him to safety, but a crowd gathered across the street.

People in the community created signs to show the man that he is loved and to come down safely. They are also chanted, “You are loved, you are loved!”

Police said the crowd’s chanting “made his behavior more erratic and hindered officers’ efforts to safely bring the man down.” Police said some members of the crowd did not heed repeated requests to move away from the area and stop yelling at the man. Two juveniles were arrested as a result, according to police. There’s no word on what charges they face.

Police couldn’t put an apparatus into the sky until rain clouds passed. When FOX21 crews arrived later in the evening, a crane had been arranged by the tower.

Around 1:05 a.m. Tuesday, the man made it down the tower to safety. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.