Vermont Farmer Crushes 7 Police Cars With Tractor Over Pot Arrest

By David Edwards
The Raw Story
Aug. 03, 2012

A Vermont farmer used his tractor to crush seven Orleans County Sheriff’s Department squad cars on Thursday because he was angry about being arrested on marijuana charges last month.

“It’s more than half our fleet,” Chief Deputy Sheriff Phil Brooks explained to the Burlington Free Press. “We have 11 cars.”

Roger Pion, 34, allegedly flattened five marked cruisers and two unmarked vehicles, including a van used for transporting prisoners. A car belonging the the department’s bookkeeper was also damaged as the tractor pushed it to clear a path to the squad cars.

“It was a massive tractor,” Newport Express Publisher Ken Wells told the Free Press. “It has four six-foot tandem wheels on the back. It was red. It must be at least a 15-ton tractor.”

“It’s pretty much the biggest tractor you can get,” Police Chief Seth DiSanto agreed.

The suspect ditched the tractor about two miles from the crime scene and then fled on foot before being apprehended, according to WCAX. He has been turned over to the Vermont State Police.

Pion was previously arrested on July 3 for marijuana possession and resisting arrest. His court date had been set for next Tuesday.

Watch this video from WCAX, broadcast Aug. 2, 2012.