Man rams police station with stolen bulldozer
By David Tirrell-Wysocki,
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H.--A man who said he had been harassed by police in Troy stole a bulldozer and rammed the town police station early Friday, heavily damaging the building, police said.
"He hit it three times," State Police Sgt. David Griffin said. "He took out the whole front, which included the main entrance to the police department."
Stanley Burt, 34, who has had numerous run-ins with the local police, is charged with criminal mischief and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, as well as driving and probation violations.
No one was inside the building at the time and no one was hurt.
In court Friday morning, Burt said the police drove him to it.
"I've been harassed to the point this has brought this to," said Burt, wearing a t-shirt depicting a construction excavator. "I want an investigation started."
Officials said Burt's record includes 20 driving offenses. He recently was released after serving 12 months in the county jail after being convicted of being a habitual motor vehicle offender.
"He's had a number of contacts with the Troy Police Department," Griffin said, "non of them favorable to him."
Griffin said as bad as the situation was, it could have been much worse.
Troy Officer Kevin Stone and two civilians were in the small building about a half hour earlier, he said.
"If this had happened when they were there, Officer Stone would have had to take some drastic measures," Griffin said.
Stone pulled into the station parking lot just before 12:30 a.m. and saw the bulldozer repeatedly smashing into the front of the building.
Burt entered no plea in court Friday morning to the new charges. He was ordered held on $200,000 bail.
Investigators say Burt stole the bulldozer from a nearby construction site.
A structural engineer was inspecting the building Friday to evaluate the damage.
The incident brought to mind an incident three years ago where a man with a grudge and a fortified bulldozer went on a rampage in the mining town of Granby, Colo.
Marvin Heemeyer, a 52-year-old muffler-shop owner who had a dispute and zoning battles with the town, spent months fortifying a bulldozer with concrete and steel plates before going through a 90-minute rampage in June 2004. Six buildings were destroyed and seven were damaged.
Heemeyer killed himself inside the vehicle after it got stuck in the wreckage of a building.
Quoted from http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/08/31/man_rams_police_station_with_stolen_bulldozer/:
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