California grandpa throws man off roof to end hours-long police standoff

A California grandfather took matters into his own hands when a stranger jumping on rooftops caused an hours-long police standoff on Tuesday.

Willard Burgess, 83, was at his La Puenta house when the suspect police were chasing stood on his roof, refusing their orders to come down for hours, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Capt. Tim Murakami wrote on Twitter. The suspect was jumping on several rooftops in the neighborhood.

Burgess, fed up with the ordeal, eventually grabbed his neighbor’s ladder and told officers he was climbing onto the roof, KABC reported.

“That sucker’s coming off,” he told police.

The grandfather then shoved the man off his roof, ending the hours-long standoff. It’s unclear whether the unidentified man, who police say was either mentally ill or on drugs, was seriously injured. Police said he was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.

"You come to my house, you don't have to worry about him because I'll be all over it 'cause I'm going to load up," Burgess told KABC.

Burgess’ granddaughter, Ashley Wrenn, recorded cell phone video of the moment Burgess tossed the man off his roof.

“My neighbor Albert got a ladder. My grandfather climbed the ladder quick. He pushed the guy to a corner of the roof and threw him off the roof,” Wrenn told San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The man was handcuffed after he fell.

“It was a crazy morning,” she said.

"I tell everybody: 'Just because you're old, that don't mean you got to sit down. As long as you're able to move, move,'" Burgess told the news station.