Golden Gate Bridge District Sues Daredevil Climbers For Trespassing
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- Golden Gate Bridge officials have sued two teenage daredevils who breached security fences to make an illegal nocturnal climb on the iconic structure in April.
The suit was filed last week against Peter Teatime and his friend Tommy Rector, who dodged the bridge's security systems and climbed the 746 foot-high structure with no safety equipment.
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The Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District is suing the pair for trespassing, creating a public safety nuisance and money earned from their online videos.
Ironically, the pair may have pulled of their feat undetected if they had not published widely viewed video and images on social media.
In the lawsuit, bridge district attorney Kimon Manolius wrote that Teatime and Rector put themselves "in serious jeopardy to exploit the San Francisco Bay Area's most iconic landmark for their own publicity."
In an interview last month with KPIX 5, Teatime said his desire to climb the bridge was fueled by his passion "to explore and gain new experiences."
"One of my main passions is exploration like climbing, exploring, going to new places I have never been," he said. "The Golden Gate Bridge is the most famous, is one of the tallest of its kind. So we had to give it a shot."
The lawsuit asked the judge to issue an injunction barring the pair from the bridge for purposes other than normal travel. It also sought to force the pair to remove the video, recordings and photos from being distributed.
The legal action also seeks unspecified damages and legal costs.
Teatime and Rector could not be reached for comment.