A man is facing charges after he climbed a construction crane in Halifax and allegedly assaulted an officer who tried to get him to safety.

Police were called to the Nova Centre construction site at the intersection of Argyle and Sackville streets before 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Investigators say two men were spotted climbing to the top of one of the construction cranes within the gated property.

“By the time we arrived they had made their way down from the crane but they were standing on the uppermost floor of that building under construction,” says Const. Pierre Bourdages. “They could not make their way down. They did not know where to go.”

The officers managed to climb up to them and arrested a 23-year-old Halifax man for public intoxication.

Police say the second man refused to comply with the officers’ directions and pushed one of the officers who was attempting to arrest him.

“One of them complied and was arrested for public intoxication and the second one refused to comply with the officer, actually pushed one of the officers, and was forcibly arrested,” confirms Bourdages.

Both men were eventually brought back to safety and no one was injured.

Darren Andre Pettipas, 23, of Linwood was held in custody overnight. He is facing charges of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

The company that owns the crane says they may sue if they discover any damage.

Meanwhile, questions remain about how the men got into the site. EllisDon, the company in charge of the site, says the fence was inspected Tuesday morning, and the only way to get in is to break in.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw