The pair of thrill-seekers charged with mischief after an attempt to take photos off the Lions Gate Bridge caused traffic chaos Thursday in Metro Vancouver appear to have done similar stunts around the world.
In Instagram posts and on their websites Zack Burke, 23, and Andrew Valantine, 26, show off photos and videos taken from the top of towers in Hong Kong, Dubai, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Seattle and Toronto.
But Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer is not impressed with the daredevil acts, calling them “extremely disruptive” and “selfish.”
“I understand people want to do thrill-seeking. Go climb a mountain or something like that,” Palmer told reporters Friday morning.
And Vancouver’s mayor also weighed in, saying it was “incredibly bad behavior and it’s dangerous.”
“It had a big impact on people and traffic. We have bad enough traffic as it is. And add troublemakers, it make it that much worse,” Gregor Robertson said.
The pair were spotted climbing the north tower of the Lions Gate Bridge around 8:30 Thursday morning. One had a backpack, prompting authorities to treat them as a threat.
The middle lane of the Lions Gate Bridge was blocked for hours with emergency vehicles, causing backups through Georgia Street downtown and also on the other Burrard Inlet crossing, the Second Narrows Bridge, which backed up on Highway 1 into Burnaby, Palmer said.
The pair came down at 1:30 p.m. Both were arrested and charged later that day with mischief. Police seized their camera gear and they spent the night in jail.
In some of the videos posted on his website, Burke displays more stealth as he climbs cranes and buildings. However he may have decided to go during the day as he was expected to board a cruise ship with family in the afternoon.
The cruise ship left on time, leaving him behind.
Both appeared in Downtown Community Court with their arms crossed, looking forlorn. A publication ban prevents reporting on the contents of the hearing.
The judge released them on bail with a $2,500 recognizance and a condition: stay away from the Lions Gate Bridge.
When they left court, both had nothing to say to the assembled media, and didn’t respond when asked if they had anything to say or whether they would apologize. Valantine held up a sheet of paper in front of his face.
The pair appear to be part of an online movement of “rooftoppers,” people who climb into hard-to-get places to get photos. The adrenaline junkies post the videos and photos and are rewarded with likes from the community, and possibly contracts taking photos for companies.
But that behaviour is risky, and has resulted in the deaths of at least three people, including a man who fell off a Chicago hotel roof.
The Lions Gate Bridge stunt could have also proved deadly, said Robertson.
“There’s real risk to goofing around on the Lions Gate Bridge,” he said.
Robertson said he had asked the provincial government, which maintains the bridge, to increase its security and make it more difficult to access.
The province told CTV News in a statement that it is “working with a maintenance contractor to review all access points to determine the need to further secure various entries on the bridge.”
