Vt. Man Crushes Police Cars With Family Tractor

(NECN: Justin Michaels) - A Vermont man is accused of single-handedly leaving a path of destruction at one police station.

He’ll be in court Friday, charged with crushing cars under a tractor.

The man is 34-year-old Roger Pion, and police say he just had a grudge against the Orleans County Vermont Sheriff's department.

"It sounded like somebody had just made a u-turn on a driveway at first then it was too loud," said Gilles Delabruere.

You might think this is the crushed car section of a junk yard, but, if you do, you’re wrong.

This is the sheriff's vehicle parking lot at the Orleans County sheriff's department in Vermont’s northeast kingdom.

Gilles Delabruere owns a car dealership next door.

He heard and saw the whole thing.

"He climbed right on top of those cars, ran right over those cars not only once but twice."

Police say 34-year-old Roger Pion of Newport, Vt. took his family's farm tractor and ran over the cars just after lunchtime Thursday.

Apparently, Pion was none-too happy about being arrested for resisting arrest after being caught with marijuana.

All seven, now mangled sheriff's cars were parked right behind the station.

Police believe Pion had to do some organizing before he crushed the cars though.

They weren't all sitting next to each other so Pion used the tractor to push four of the cars together and then drove over them.

And believe it or not, deputies were inside the department while their cars were being crushed outside.

A 911 dispatcher had to let them know.

"We heard nothing until I got closer to the door. I heard a car horn going off, which was coming from one of the damaged cruisers," said Chief Deputy Philip Brooks.

And the result of Pion’s pity-party is about $250,000 in damage.

And this is where a strange story gets, well, stranger.

"We had nothing left to pursue him in," said Chief Brooks.

Pion took off, down the road, Nascar style in a tractor.

"A couple of deputies thought they may chase him down the road but that didn't work," said Brooks.

Local police came to the rescue and caught up with Pion, still on the tractor about a mile down the road.

"You barely see this in movies, much less in real time in the northeast kingdom of Vermont," the Chief said.

Pion is expected to be arraigned in Orleans County criminal court Friday.

He faces seven counts of unlawful mischief, as well as leaving the scene of an accident, among other charges.

He's being held on $15,000 bail.

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