User:Geo Swan/Marisa Lazo

Marisa Lazo is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, living in Toronto, Canada, who attracted public scrutiny, after scaling a high-rise construction crane, and requiring a dramatic rescue. Friends told reporters Lazo was a thrillseeker, who engaged in "rooftopping"—the practice of covertly trespassing, and climbing abandoned buildings, buildings under construction, or building with dangerous observation points, that aren't open to the public—and then taking trophy photos, in order to claim bragging rights.

Lazo faced mental health court, and several charges, after her rescue, from the hook of a construction crane. Early on the morning of April 26, 2017, Lazo free-climbed a construction crane, scaled the boom, and then shinnied down the cable, to the crane's hook. Officials were not able to explain what Lazo had planned, once she reached the hook. But, after reaching the hook, she then called out to passers-by, on the street, requesting rescue.

Both the Toronto Police Services and Toronto Fire Services responded. A Police hostage negotiator responded, and scaled the construction tower, in order to communicate with Lazo. Acting fire captain Rob Wonfor scaled the tower himself, made his way to the end of the crane, where he was lowered, in a harness, to the hook where Lazo was perched. Once he arrived Lazo cooperated, while he strapped her to his harness. The pair was then slowly lowered to the ground.

Upon reaching the ground Lazo was handcuffed, before she was escorted to hospital. Acting captain Wonfor remained on the scene, but his superiors informed reporters he required warming of his core body temperature.

Initially, the plan was that he would secure Lazo to the hook, while the crane operator lowered Lazo to the ground. The crane operator informed officials that, in his opinion, this plan wasn't safe. He informed officials there was a serious danger Lazo's clothes would be drawn into the hook's pulleys, either crushing her, or throwing her off the hook. So, the plan was changed, so Lazo was strapped to the rescue harness, and rescuers lowered both Lazo and her rescuer.

On Thursday, April 27, 2017, legal observers described the six charges Lazo faced as excessive, since six convictions would not result in a stiffer sentence. Lazo was released on $500 bail. Bail conditions including surrendering her US passport, and being restricted from entering any construction site.

Spokespersons for The Plaza Group, the company building the high-rise, described a domino effect, where they had to pay approximately 80 workers, who could not work that day, because the site had to be fully inspected, in case Lazo had vandalized equipment, or damaged equipment by accident, making work unsafe. They estimated that her stunt cost them approximately $60,000 CAD.

CTV News reported they found Lazo's Linkedin account, and it indicates she is an Architectural Technology student at George Brown College, who grew up in Port Colborne, Ontario.

Lazo's expeditions
Reporters learned more about Lazo's expeditions from friends who attended her mental health hearing, on the day after her rescue. Sara Burton, described Lazo as an "adventurous girl". Friends offered reporters Lazo's instragram handle, and before it was closed down, they downloaded, and republished, multiple photos that showed her posing on the edges of rooftops, or on railway trestles. Lazo's friends assured reporters that she did not have mental health issues.

The builders revealed that her entry to the building site, and the beginning of her climb, were captured on their security cameras, and had been shared with police. Those videos showed her spending a few minutes casing the site, at 2:30 am, before she scaled the fence, and began her climb. Captain Wonfor, her fire department rescuer, said he was impressed with her climbing ability, as he found climbing the crane challenging, and she made the climb without benefit of any climbing equipment.

CBC News reported, on May 8, 2017, that Lazo faced six charges of mischief, was released after posting a bond, on condition she avoid construction sites, and rooftops.

Legacy
On May 1, 2017, Heather Mallick wrote a column on the importance of taxation, that used Lazo's rescue as a focal point. She noted that, even though Toronto had never needed anyone to perform the kind of aerial rescue required to retrieve Lazo, it had teams of emergency personnel who had trained, and ready to perform that challenging feat. She also noted the indestructability Lazo seemed to have in common with other 23-year-olds.

On May 4, 2017, the Globe and Mail published an op-ed by Frank Farley, a psychologist and L.H.Carnell Professor at Temple University, which used Lazo as an example of what he called a Type T personality. Farley went on to describe individuals whose thrill-seeking had a negative effect on society, and those whose thrill-seeking had a positive effect. In his final paragraph Farley wrote:
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 * "Creative crane-climbing is undoubtedly pushing the limits of risk. I don’t condone it, but I do wish that many of those who have a major capacity for risk might find ways to channel these unique qualities in socially important T positive directions – that is, helping society understand and creatively confront the other side of the T equation, the T negative horrors before us, as in terror, crime and violence."
 * "Creative crane-climbing is undoubtedly pushing the limits of risk. I don’t condone it, but I do wish that many of those who have a major capacity for risk might find ways to channel these unique qualities in socially important T positive directions – that is, helping society understand and creatively confront the other side of the T equation, the T negative horrors before us, as in terror, crime and violence."


 * }

There were three other attempts by thrill-seekers to climb other Toronto area cranes, in May, leaving authorities to speculate they were inspired by Lazo's example.