Angry Guy in Tractor Crushes 7 Cop Cars, Say Police

Working in a stout former bank building with windows closed and air conditioners humming, Orleans County sheriff's deputies in Vermont didn't know what was happening in their parking lot until a neighbor called 911 yesterday. A man on a big farm tractor, angry about his recent arrest for resisting arrest and marijuana possession, was rolling across their vehicles—five marked cruisers, one unmarked car, and a transport van, more than half the fleet of sheriff's cruisers in the rural county.

By the time deputies ran outside, the tractor was down the driveway and out onto the road. With their vehicles crushed, "We had nothing to pursue him with," says the chief deputy. Finally, city police in Newport caught up with Roger Pion, 34, a short distance away. He will face numerous charges including felony unlawful mischief and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Damage amounted to as much as $300,000. But, says the sheriff, "Nobody was hurt. That's the thing everybody's got to cherish." (More strange stuff stories.)