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Demian Warner / The Newport Daily Express
Police say a man drove a tractor over eight police vehicles Thursday. The damage is estimated to be about $250,000.
A man driving a farm tractor ran over eight vehicles in the parking lot of a Vermont police station in an apparent revenge scheme, according to local reports.
Police said Roger Pion, 34, of Newport, Vt., flattened seven marked police cruisers and one unmarked personal vehicle at the Orleans County Sheriff’s Department in Derby, Vt., around 12:40 p.m. Thursday.
“We came out and sure enough there was someone who had run over our cruisers with a tractor,” Chief Dep. Philip Brooks of the Orleans County Sheriff’s Dept. told WCAX.
Not only were their roofs and hoods caved in, but “the radios are ruined, the radar detectors, the cages in the cars … We’re going to have to get the jaws of life up here to pry the trunks open and see about the rifles and shotguns,” Sheriff Kirk Martin told the Associated Press.
With the vehicles crushed, police had no way to pursue Pion after he drove off in the tractor.
Demian Warner / The Newport Daily Express
Police say Roger Pion took out more than half of the sheriff department's fleet -- some of its newest vehicles were only four months old.
“It felt like I was in a Monster Jam rally or something,” witness Rene Morris told WCAX. “I just couldn’t believe it. He’s backing up, going over it, turns around, makes his way to the other vehicles smashes those up, did his business and headed right down Route 5.”
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Police eventually caught up with Pion a mile and a half from the police station and arrested him. The motive is still under investigation, but witnesses believe Pion was angry about his recent arrest for marijuana possession and resisting arrest.
Stephanie Dasaro / Vermont State Police
Police arrested Roger Pion of Newport, V.T., after the tractor incident. He also was arrested recently for marijuana possession and resisting arrest.
The damage is estimated to be about $250,000, according to police.
No one was injured. At least two deputies had gone inside a few moments before after washing their vehicles, officers said.
Brooks said the destroyed vehicles constituted more than half of the fleet of sheriff’s cruisers in the rural county on the Canadian border. The others were out on patrol. Since the incident, neighboring counties have offered their help.
“We have other county sheriff’s departments who are offering cruisers to us,” Brooks said. “We’ve already had one county that’s dropped one off to us and we’ve got two others that are on the way.”
It’s not known where Pion got the tractor but police said he comes from a farm family.
Demian Warne / The Newport Daily Express
Police don't know where Pion got the tractor from but say he comes from a farm family.
Pion was held at the Northern State Correctional Center in Newport in lieu of $15,000 bail.
He is expected to appear in Orleans County Criminal Court Friday to answer to seven counts of felony unlawful mischief, one count of misdemeanor unlawful mischief, one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, one count of gross negligent operation, and one count of leaving the scene of an accident.
A man driving a tractor crushes 7 police vehicles parked at a sheriff's department headquarters in Vermont. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
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Leave a Comment:
Maybe it's time to go back to slavery - he should HAVE to pay every red cent of the damage he did. It's outrageous. I guess if this guy got mad at his neighbor, he would plow down their house with them in it too? The law is the law and everybody is obligated to obey it whether you like it or not. At least with Biblical slavery (and that doesn't mean taking people against their will when they have done nothing wrong), people have to pay for their sins instead of them just becoming a bigger and bigger burdens on society. Every single person has the ability to manage anger, but in today's society, nobody is doing it anymore. Harder criminal sentences. No slaps on the wrist. Enough is enough of people taking advantage of honest, taxpaying citizens that know better than to blow their top over something like this.
New Heading:
Police forgo use of patrol cars and rely on mountain bikes: Saves tax payers millions
I think we need Strict Tractor control laws. Like how on earth could this guy get a tractor........
Clearly we need mental health screenings and even mental health blacklists to keep people like this from getting their hands on tractors...
hs321, Great point:
"Why is this unexpected? It happened in Vermont after all.
(No, I don't think this guy is representative of every person in Vermont, but with so much despised for whatever totally subjective reason, for some states, a lot of people start bashing them any time anything negative hits the news...)"
Can you imagine what most of these comments would be if this had taken place in some other parts of the country?
I live in the town where this occured. 99% of us have gotten a good laugh out of this. The reason the cops didn't hear what was going on was because the building is sound proof. (And they may have been on donut break) Roger actually had time to crush two cars in front, then go around back and line up the other cars, run them over, then back over them again before taking off on the tractor. Cops didn't know what happened till they were called and were told someone just ran over their cruisers..Then they chased him on foot. LOL I bet this guy gets high fives from every inmate in the local prison here. Wrong? Yeah....Funny as hell though, and BTW, other towns have brought us their cruisers, so we have plenty now.
Goes to show that other towns have cruisers that they don't need. Why do towns have sheriff dept cruisers instead of their own, or don't they have a police force?
Jessie-294785P: (And they may have been on donut break) LOVE IT!!!! You're right, this is funny as hell (except for the property damage that y'all have to pay for). Good on you for having an upbeat attitude!
@ rich 69 and Tundraphile, There are so many cruisers because they belong to the county of Orleans, not just one town, it's actually 18 towns (yes, 18 towns). So we have 11 cruisers to cover 18 towns and nearly 700 square land miles.
I wonder if the department had insurance for this type of loss?
Good for him!!!
They should hang this photo framed in the biggest art gallery in the world. What A Masterpiece!!! :)
He will get a round of applause when he enters Prison for his term in Jail. Now us taxpayers will be paying for new Cars and his food and lodging. Tell me who won and who Lost
cannabis prohibition is a lose - lose proposition.
Things like this is the reason why pot won't be legalized.Give the moron a joint gets stoned ,andget arrested.Then the moron comes back and runs over police cars.Oh Yah! Like thats going to really help the cause.It's proof why some people shouldn't breed.I've seen some real mellow pot smokers and then there are clowns like this fool.
Where do I send my check to donate to this fine man's defence fund?
About time someone gave the gestapo a little lesson!
" I love this guy" "Bold" "enjoyed it" nice kids I'm glad you all got a chuckle. I hope you plan to donate to the taxpayers there who now have to replace those police cars. Didn't think about that did you? Its your fellow Americans you are laughing at because they are left holding the bill. Didn't think about that did you?
This whole thing is funny to those on welfare. But for the few that still pay taxes, it's a bit over the top.
kriskatz
don't pretend to know how pot affects anyone!
Nah. If he had smoked some, he would have just stayed home and giggled all day instead.
Someone needs to buy this guy a bigger tractor - a John Deere this time. I salute him. All those patrol cars were used for was to run revenue speed traps most of the time anyway. If I were on the jury, I'd hang the jury with a not guilty vote.
LOL That makes two of us...
This dude will be a f--cking LEGEND in prison...
Taxpayers won't pay 1 penny, the insurance companys are going to @!$%# thier pants. Not an accedent, an intentional act of rebellion. Which I would like to point out is on the uprise and is only going to get worse. At this rate maybe 30 years or so. I know people have been saying that forever, however the data is starting to support that. Life as he new it it over. Never get hired anywhere, never vote, never travel, Searched without a search warrent just because a cop dosen't like the way he looks. Would you like that for exerciseing your right to communicate, read Freedom of Speach. I like this guy.
Never get a job anywhere? Get real. Farmers do not do felonies checks. Or any checks at all really. What makes you thing he doesn't work or even co own the "family" farm.
They can slap all of the felonies on this guy they want, and it will run down hill, just like @!$%#, back to the Government agency.
There are actually citizens of the USA that are tired of this government nonsense and waste.
This guy is a true hero. How can I contribute to his defense fund?
He was upset?
forget about tractors... hasn't anyone seen CARS? Harvesters are wild, dangerous beasts. NO MORE HARVESTERS!
A true hero!
The real story here is how much money this small town spends on law enforcement. It is a small rural border town. The story said this constituted only half of the cruisers in the town.
Why does a town this small need 16 cruisers worth $500,000? It was the same in my small home town in NH. There was never enough money for the school system and there were literally classrooms in trailers. But the local cops always had the best equipment available and brand new cruisers.
@No Party, There are so many cruisers because they belong to the county of Orleans, not just one town, it's actually 18 towns . So we have 11 cruisers to cover 18 towns and nearly 700 square land miles. :)
Jessie: you need to explain what a square mile is. My failing memory thinks 640 acres per square mile?
Typical hillbilly rage.
Spend a lot of time with hillbillies , do ya? What is "typical hillbillie rage"? Enlighten us.
How could he be charged with leaving the seen of an accident if he did it on purpose? What a trumped up charge, these cops do anything for a buck?
seriously with these 'tractors should be harder to come by' people.... for real? so when someone points a gun at a gas station clerk... is it the guns fault? when one jackass assaults another jackass with a baseball bat... should we invoke permit laws for owning bats? how bout an angry clown that hits someone with a cream pie made of nair? i guess we need show our ID's at the pharmacy for a hair removal product....
it's the people ya gotta worry about... not the tools they use...
Epic Win.