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He took it like a man
Well, maybe not. 
At least he knew enough to trash her place and not his.
LONDON -- A distraught man flung television sets, stereos and furniture from a 9th-floor downtown apartment building and tried to set the place on fire yesterday before police broke down his door and subdued him.
Hundreds of spectators watched the drama unfold on King St., cheering or groaning when something large flew out the window and smashed onto cars in a parking lot below.
No onlookers were hurt, but at least six cars were damaged and emergency response unit officers had to fend off what was left in the apartment, said London police Sgt. Lynn Sutherland.
"This guy was highly agitated and volatile," she said. "He was throwing things at the officers as they tried to enter the unit."
The incident began just before 2:30 p.m. at the 163-unit building at 186 King St. between Richmond and Clarence streets.
Witnesses said the man apparently broke into an apartment on the east side of the building, smashed the window and began throwing items out on the parking lot below.
"I heard him going crazy, saying he was going to kill himself," said one resident.
Witnesses on the street said they could hear the man shouting about his girlfriend, who may be the apartment's occupant.
"We heard a big smash and looked up and this guy is throwing stuff out of the apartment," said Richard White.
"He was screaming about his girlfriend, saying 'I'm not going to make it through the night,' " White said.
The man, taken out on a stretcher and then to hospital, was injured, and while police didn't disclose the nature of his injuries, it appears they were serious.
The incident is being investigated by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, a civilian agency that investigates when interaction between police and a civilian result in serious injury or death.
Police confirmed the man was not a resident of the unit, but couldn't specify his relationship to the occupant.
At one point, the man threw a sharp object out the window -- a knife or pair of scissors -- narrowly missing a police officer below, said Jen Conyard.
"He threw out television sets, sofa chairs, stereos."
Many objects smashed onto a ledge below, before bouncing onto the parking lot. But one vehicle in particular, a Jeep, sustained heavy damage when objects ripped through its fabric roof.
Among the spectators were worried owners of vehicles in the parking lot, used by hundreds of downtown workers.
"I would like to know what's happened to my car," Goodlife Fitness employee Kim Philbrook told police officers.
But police refused to let anyone near the building. At one point an officer had to shove aside someone with a cellphone trying to run into the lot.
"I know that there's a great interest in getting things on Youtube and being able to videotape things," Sutherland said.
"However, when I arrived a lot of people, in my opinion, were too close for comfort."
Police barricaded most of the block, refusing to let people onto the north sidewalk below the building.
The crowd grew as the drama continued, until people stood 10 deep along King St.
Police, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene as the man continued to throw items out the window, sometimes appearing in the broken window frame.
Many in the crowd roared as he lit some drapes on fire. As the apartment filled with smoke, emergency crews began to evacuate the building.
Firefighters with axes rushed upstairs. Paramedics carried the man out on a stretcher about 3:30 p.m.
The man, whom police did not name, faces charges of assault and property damage, Sutherland said.
Hundreds of spectators watched the drama unfold on King St., cheering or groaning when something large flew out the window and smashed onto cars in a parking lot below.
No onlookers were hurt, but at least six cars were damaged and emergency response unit officers had to fend off what was left in the apartment, said London police Sgt. Lynn Sutherland.
"This guy was highly agitated and volatile," she said. "He was throwing things at the officers as they tried to enter the unit."
The incident began just before 2:30 p.m. at the 163-unit building at 186 King St. between Richmond and Clarence streets.
Witnesses said the man apparently broke into an apartment on the east side of the building, smashed the window and began throwing items out on the parking lot below.
"I heard him going crazy, saying he was going to kill himself," said one resident.
Witnesses on the street said they could hear the man shouting about his girlfriend, who may be the apartment's occupant.
"We heard a big smash and looked up and this guy is throwing stuff out of the apartment," said Richard White.
"He was screaming about his girlfriend, saying 'I'm not going to make it through the night,' " White said.
The man, taken out on a stretcher and then to hospital, was injured, and while police didn't disclose the nature of his injuries, it appears they were serious.
The incident is being investigated by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, a civilian agency that investigates when interaction between police and a civilian result in serious injury or death.
Police confirmed the man was not a resident of the unit, but couldn't specify his relationship to the occupant.
At one point, the man threw a sharp object out the window -- a knife or pair of scissors -- narrowly missing a police officer below, said Jen Conyard.
"He threw out television sets, sofa chairs, stereos."
Many objects smashed onto a ledge below, before bouncing onto the parking lot. But one vehicle in particular, a Jeep, sustained heavy damage when objects ripped through its fabric roof.
Among the spectators were worried owners of vehicles in the parking lot, used by hundreds of downtown workers.
"I would like to know what's happened to my car," Goodlife Fitness employee Kim Philbrook told police officers.
But police refused to let anyone near the building. At one point an officer had to shove aside someone with a cellphone trying to run into the lot.
"I know that there's a great interest in getting things on Youtube and being able to videotape things," Sutherland said.
"However, when I arrived a lot of people, in my opinion, were too close for comfort."
Police barricaded most of the block, refusing to let people onto the north sidewalk below the building.
The crowd grew as the drama continued, until people stood 10 deep along King St.
Police, firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene as the man continued to throw items out the window, sometimes appearing in the broken window frame.
Many in the crowd roared as he lit some drapes on fire. As the apartment filled with smoke, emergency crews began to evacuate the building.
Firefighters with axes rushed upstairs. Paramedics carried the man out on a stretcher about 3:30 p.m.
The man, whom police did not name, faces charges of assault and property damage, Sutherland said.
At least he knew enough to trash her place and not his.
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