Man arrested after he scales 40-story Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix

Perry Vandell and Sydney Carruth, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
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A 23-year-old man, identified as Maison DesChamps, is facing criminal trespassing charges after he successfully scaled the outside of the Chase Tower, as dozens of onlookers watched and as Phoenix police and fire crews shut down a part of downtown Phoenix on Tuesday morning.

DesChamps was booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of trespassing and criminal nuisance charges after Phoenix police officers arrested him on the roof of the Chase Tower after he completed his unsanctioned free climb.

Capt. Todd Keller, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department, said fire crews responded to the bank at First and Monroe streets about 9:45 a.m. after receiving reports of a man climbing the building. Keller said the man had reached the 15th floor by the time crews arrived.

Keller said crews set up "rescue operations" and were in constant contact with the man as he scaled the building. Firefighters routinely asked the man if he was fatigued or needed assistance.

Teams climbed a stairwell opposite the 3-foot-wide channel the man wedged himself between. A public safety drone also monitored the man as he ascended one of the tallest buildings in Phoenix.

Keller said the man claimed to be a professional climber and had brought free-climbing equipment. Keller condemned the publicity stunt, which was timed to coincide with the Super Bowl to raise money for anti-abortion groups, the climber, Maison DesChamps, confirmed in his Instagram post.

"This is highly dangerous," Keller said. "This is absolutely not the thing to do."

Keller noted that the Valley has a plethora of venues appropriate for free climbing — a type of climbing where the climber does not use ropes or harnesses that might prevent a fatal fall — and that the 483-foot Chase Tower was not one of them.

Thomas Taylor (center) watches Maison DesChamps climb the Chase Tower in Phoenix on Feb. 7, 2023.
Thomas Taylor (center) watches Maison DesChamps climb the Chase Tower in Phoenix on Feb. 7, 2023.

Had the man needed rescue, Keller said technical crews would have had to rappel from the top of the building as a ventilation shaft separated the firefighters inside the building from the man outside.

Keller said firefighters assessed the man after he had reached the top. He was taken into police custody shortly after reaching the roof of the building.

Phoenix police did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic for comment.

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man scales 40-story Chase Tower in downtown Phoenix