It is Lee Dell Thomas. He was 44 years old and had a history of legal problems.

In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Dallas Police Assistant Chief Tom Lawrence said the DPD sent SWAT officers up the crane early Tuesday morning “to try to reestablish communications and to hopefully get him down safely.”

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As we noted earlier today, that did not happen.

WFAA has the disturbing story about Ollie May Thomas, the man’s mother, who says she watched the whole crane saga unfold but never knew the Crane Guy was her son until police arrived at her door.

She told WFAA that he had a history of mental illness, drug addiction, incarceration and homelessness.

“He had a hard life,” she told the reporters.