Man Takes on City Hall, Wins

Andrew J. · Post by **Andrew J.** » 2004-06-04 09:43pm

Hasn't that guy ever heard that you shouldn't operate heavy machinery while on drugs?

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-06-04 09:53pm

Holy crap...that is hilarious in a very twisted way. I never would have thought of making an improvised tank using a tractor.

Looks like the guy put his town on the map while simultaneously wiping it off the planet.

BlkbrryTheGreat · Post by **BlkbrryTheGreat** » 2004-06-04 09:55pm

Mayabird wrote:Holy crap...that is hilarious in a very twisted way. I never would have thought of making an improvised tank using a tractor.

Osama's dad wanted to do that- his engineers told him it wasn't really practical.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-06-04 10:03pm

I've always heard they were spec'ed for a 5 ton truck. An Abrams is pretty fucking huge, I'm not convinced the flower pots would survive such a confrontation.

The "Flower Pots" in question are big enough for a few of your avarage line of bushs, the ones we had outside the base down in Floridia were rougly as big around as a Honda Civic(And were sunk into the ground, the base of the pot is 1foot lower than the surronding concrete)

Dennis Toy · Post by **Dennis Toy** » 2004-06-04 10:16pm

did any of the TV Network interupt for the special report about this?

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2004-06-04 10:58pm

Dennis Toy wrote:did any of the TV Network interupt for the special report about this?

If you mean stations such as Fox News, yes.

It was real cool how the caterpillar took down a section of that store's wall in the video the site provided. I am quite sadden by the fact that the building didn't collapse. Would have been a great site to see.

Dennis Toy · Post by **Dennis Toy** » 2004-06-04 11:03pm

send nick kang there...

You fought the law and the law won...

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2004-06-04 11:19pm

Wow. That guy's got quite a tank, there. That's pretty impressive. I wonder how long it took him to put that together. I hope it doesn't give any insane Iraqis ideas, not that the US military would have much trouble stopping it.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2004-06-04 11:37pm

I doubt the steel he welded onto the thing could possibly have been up to tank-quality armor; it was probably resistant to small arms but I doubt it could stand up to anything heavier.

LordShaithis · Post by **LordShaithis** » 2004-06-05 01:19am

You do all realize that Shep is no doubt looking at bulldozer prices at this very moment, right?

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-06-05 01:38am

GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:You do all realize that Shep is no doubt looking at bulldozer prices at this very moment, right?

Prices? You cad! I'm reading ignition wiring plans for Caterpillars

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2004-06-05 01:47am

[url]www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... /406050506[/ul]

Armed Man in Bulldozer Goes on Rampage
By P. SOLOMON BANDA
Associated Press Writer
June 05, 2004

A muffler shop owner reportedly angry at local government over a zoning dispute tore through town Friday in an armored bulldozer, smashing buildings and firing shots as police tried to stop the slow-motion rampage.
Authorities were trying to blast their way into the steel-plated cab of the machine with explosives late Friday, Grand County Emergency Management Director Jim Holihan said. At least one explosion was heard, but it was not immediately clear whether it penetrated the machine's makeshift armor.

The siege left a trail of splintered structures in this mountain tourist town, but there were no reports of injuries.

"Gunfire was just ringing out everywhere," said Sandra Tucker, who saw the bulldozer begin the rampage from her office on Main Street. "It sounded to me like an automatic rifle, firing about every second."
By late afternoon, the bulldozer had come to a stop stuck in the rubble of a metal warehouse. Officers clambered on top, apparently trying to talk to the man, identified by the town manager as Marvin Heemeyer.
Heemeyer was angry after losing a zoning dispute over land near his muffler shop, town manager Tom Hale said.

He also had been fined $2,500 in a separate case for not having a septic tank and other city code violations at his business, Hale said.

When he paid the fine, he enclosed a note with his check saying "Cowards," Hale said.

"We felt he was venting his frustration that he didn't get his way," Hale said of the note. "We didn't think he was going to do something like this."
Gov. Bill Owens traveled to Granby Friday night to assess the damage.
The cab of the yellow bulldozer was protected with black metal plates apparently welded on over a period of weeks in his muffler shop.

"It looked like a futuristic tank," said Rod Moore, speaking by phone from his auto garage and towing company.

He said the bulldozer rumbled past within 15 feet of his shop, with an officer perched on top, firing shots into the top. At one point, he said the officer dropped some kind of explosive down the exhaust pipe.

"He just kept shooting," Moore said. "The dozer was still going ... it didn't do a thing."

Authorities with the Grand County sheriff's office and town police did not return calls seeking comment. The State Patrol said all roads in and out of the town 50 miles west of Denver were closed.

County manager Lurline Curran said at least some of the wrecked buildings belonged to people involved in one or both of the disputes.

"He evidently proceeded in destroying the properties of people involved with that," Curran said. She said she had heard the man spent two months fortifying the bulldozer in his shop.

Ian Daugherty, a bakery owner, said the driver was upset a concrete plant had been built too close to his business. The driver, Daugherty added, "went out of his way" not to harm anyone.

State Patrol Maj. Jim Wolfinbarger said officers told him the driver had aimed his weapon at propane tanks.

The bulldozer also knocked out natural gas service to City Hall and a cement plant, damaging a truck and part of a utility service center, Xcel Energy spokesman Mark Stutz said.

Granby is a town of about 2,200 at nearly 8,000 feet. It is near the Winter Park ski resort and not far from the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.
The scene was reminiscent of a 1998 rampage in Alma, another town in the Colorado Rockies. Authorities said Tom Leask shot a man to death, then used a town-owned front-end loader to heavily damage the post office, fire department, water department and town hall.

*****************************************

You know in a twisted way I'm rooting for this guy. Stick it to the man!

Omega-13 · Post by **Omega-13** » 2004-06-05 02:18am

i'm rooting for this guy too,
reminds me of walking tall, with michael douglas

Omega-13 · Post by **Omega-13** » 2004-06-05 02:24am

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/06/0 ... index.html

how does a vehicle that pushes over 100 foot trees, concrete walls and cars, get stuck in a building it was demolishing?

did it get stuck because the radiator was damaged? or was it actually 'stuck'
i just don't see it happening,

the m60 was breaking the concrete when it was stuck on it, a few more minutes and it would have crumbled and the tank would have been free,

i just don't see a thing like this getting 'hung up' on crumbled concrete.

Mr. Sinister · Post by **Mr. Sinister** » 2004-06-05 03:05am

You just know somebody's going to make a tv movie about this.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-06-05 03:30am

Mr Bean wrote:
I've always heard they were spec'ed for a 5 ton truck. An Abrams is pretty fucking huge, I'm not convinced the flower pots would survive such a confrontation.
The "Flower Pots" in question are big enough for a few of your avarage line of bushs, the ones we had outside the base down in Floridia were rougly as big around as a Honda Civic(And were sunk into the ground, the base of the pot is 1foot lower than the surronding concrete)

I'm quite aware of their size, but I didn't know they were sunk a foot. I'm more willing to believe the Abrams spec now.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2004-06-05 10:53am

Omega-13 wrote:i'm rooting for this guy too,
reminds me of walking tall, with michael douglas

Michael Douglas was in Falling Down, at least that's the one where he goes off on the gangbangers, and the Korean shop keeper.

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-06-05 01:24pm

God bless you, Killdozer.

And he wasn't pissed about tax hikes, he was pissed about zoning code shit he ran into with the city council, who proceeded to fuck him over.

Part of what's badass about all this, though, is that this guy did this from a muffler shop. Imagine what he could have done if he'd had more.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-06-05 01:37pm

They write folk songs about guys like this. As long as he didn't kill or hurt anybody, I'm kinda rooting for him.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2004-06-05 01:56pm

I think he watched Monster Garage one too many times.

Glocksman · Post by **Glocksman** » 2004-06-05 02:35pm

It is kind of neat, but whatever happened to the old American tradition of tarring and feathering government officials.

I for one am sorry to see such traditions die.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-06-05 02:43pm

Ah, only in America.

It makes me so proud.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2004-06-05 04:06pm

Mayabird wrote:Holy crap...that is hilarious in a very twisted way. I never would have thought of making an improvised tank using a tractor.

That's a pretty stupid question, given what the first tanks ever where inspired by.

Mr Bean wrote: The "Flower Pots" in question are big enough for a few of your avarage line of bushs, the ones we had outside the base down in Floridia were rougly as big around as a Honda Civic(And were sunk into the ground, the base of the pot is 1foot lower than the surronding concrete)

But how tall are they? Most of the ones I've seen don't look high enough to stop a tank from climbing them, though it might get hung up in the process.

Kamakazie Sith · Post by **Kamakazie Sith** » 2004-06-05 04:26pm

I'm not rooting for this guy. Just because he is having a bad day means he should be able to ruin the lives of bunch of other people? Fuck that....he's where he belongs now. Dead

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2004-06-05 08:34pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:
Mayabird wrote:Holy crap...that is hilarious in a very twisted way. I never would have thought of making an improvised tank using a tractor.
That's a pretty stupid question, given what the first tanks ever where inspired by.

But it wasn't a question...