mcs328

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2003Mar17.html

Man Drives Tractor Into Pond on Mall

By Derrill Holly
Associated Press Writer
Monday, March 17, 2003; 4:30 PM


Traffic in the West End is snarled this afternoon, as police have closed some streets after a man drove a tractor into a pond near the Washington Monument and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Police were unclear of the man's motives. Reporters were kept at a distance, with authorities saying they were concerned about the possibility the man could have explosives.

A John Deere tractor could be clearly seen in a pond near the Reflecting Pool, in the area known as Constitution Gardens. The tractor was pulling a military-style Jeep and a trailer. The tractor became disconnected from the other vehicles, and the Jeep was partially submerged. The tractor had messages on its cab supporting veterans.

"A very large John Deere tractor crashed into the water," said witness Ted Woynicz. "He was dressed in army fatigues, he had a helmet on with a Red Cross insignia on the front."

The man was sitting in the cab of the tractor, which was in about three feet of water. He was playing recordings of military exercise cadences. The area was roped off with crime scene tape.

"We have a dialogue going with the subject," said Sgt. Scott Fear, a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, which was handling the situation. FBI agents and officers from the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Dept. were also on hand, and a Park Police helicopter circled overhead. City fire trucks and ambulances were also on the scene.

As the afternoon rush hour was about to begin, several roads in the area were shut. The closures affected streets which serve as commuter routes leading from downtown Washington to the suburbs of Virginia.

Police have closed Constitution Avenue NW between 15th and 23rd streets, and drivers on 19th and 21st streets NW cannot go south of C Street. Police urged Virginia-bound drivers are being urged to take M Street NW to the Key Bridge.

The area is home to the Department of the Interior, the Organization of American States and the National Academy of Sciences. No buildings were evacuated.

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At first I thought this guy drove into it by accident when I heard it on the radio. They would just help him out and everything would blow over. But now he's having a standoff with the police. Ugh...shoot him.

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Nija

that Red Cross on his helmet should be a good indication as to were to shoot, eh?

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"Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

Tag

Thanks for the heads up > always nice when folks visiting Washington decided to add to the joys of commuting.

Guess I will be going out for St. Patricks day after work.

gear02

He is wearing green...maybe he hit the St. Patty's day stuff a little too early...

Grimm

Great, now we have people advocating the exicution of peaceful protesters in our nations capital.
The man is exercising his right to free speech and oblication of civil disobedience when he has a problem with how our government is doing things. He's a better man than you.

nomoney

I dont agree with the execution but I would hardly call him a "peacful protestor". Damage of public or private property is not what most people would consider peaceful.

He is a better man .... uhhhh.... why? Because he exercises his rights in a destructive manner?

And another question since you are so big on rights. What exactly is this "obligation" to civil disobedience when we have the freedom to sit on our asses if we choose to?

sbp

Indeed this is not a peaceful protestor.

Wonder if this guy has mental issues.

Cantacuzene

I should hope everyone considers themselves big on rights.

nomoney

hehe....ya I guess that came out the wrong way.

Anck Su Namun

Holy Crap

He's probably from Southern Maryland LOL. I am so glad to be out of that place.

sbp

"The man, reportedly a tobacco farmer from North Carolina, was sitting in the cab of the tractor, which was in about three feet of water."

mcs328

*shrug* Maybe shooting him is a little extreme. Drown him.
I'm all for free speech but driving a tractor in to the reflecting pool is not the way to do it. That's not how you get your point across. If I wanted to be extreme I would say thats like say I dunno...flying two planes into a bulding and killing thousands of people just to advance your beliefs.

I get tired of people who think it's okay to walk into the Nations capitol, strap on some fake explosives and dance around like they accomplished a major victory. Kinda pisses me off that our security isn't up to snuff either to.

And I don't think driving a tractor into a landmark (I dunno if it really *is* a landmark) constitutes a peaceful protester. Yeah it's just water...but still...the Vietnam memorial is just a wall right. There are other peaceful ways to protest...I disagree with how this nut job went about it.

Ugh...ever since those damn PETA ppl gave me crap at the Wendy's drive thru I've been a bitter bitter person when it comes to protesters who physically interfere with everyone around them. ugh. I blame all my angst PETA. argh

sbp

Indeed. Perhaps if peeps actually lived in this area as we do and seen the bs that is pulled, they would have a different perspective and not coddle lamers like this.

mcs328

Argh...that guy is still in the pool. Now they have sharp shooters around him and are trying to negotiate with him. Doesn't he know while he's stopping traffic all around him, taking up police time and trying to advocate whatever he's trying to advocate, there's a war brewing in 2 days? He's been there for almost 22 hours now...he better not pee in the reflecting pool...yeck!!

mcs328

They don't know what he's got in his tractor and some type of truck. He might be carrying highly explosive material like those used in the Oklahoma City bombing, potassium nitrate? or whatever, I forget. So if has some sort of detonation device I'm sure he call pull it off if gets hit by rubber bullets.

whitak24

i think people are overreacting to this guy a bit.

first of all, from what's going on down there, it sounds to me like the guy has some mental illness issues.

secondly, i don't understand how driving a tractor in a pool of water constitutes a "non-peaceful protest". a retarded protest? definitely. but i would still classify it as peaceful. as far as we know, he hasn't hurt anybody or destroyed any public or private property (other than his john deere tractor )

ok, so he's creating a traffic tie-up in dc. people create traffic tieups because they're idiots and get in accidents. should we shoot them too?

Nija

yes

mcs328

Believe it or not they are capable of shooting themselves despite the ban on all firearms in DC. *shrug*

Grimm

I am still trying to figure out who was hurt by him driving a tractor into a pool of water.
Exactly how many millions of dollers of damage did he do to the big puddle of water? Oh? He killed several blades of inocent grass getting there? Damn vegitable murdering farmer!

mcs328

I'm not that concerned about the water. I'm more concerned about what he has hiding in his truck or whatever. He hasn't killed anybody yet (I doubt he will) but I'm uneasy with he's got stored. Maybe something, maybe nothing, probably nothing I hope.

Anck Su Namun

Well Southern MD is a lot like Carolina so that makes sense then.

coleslaw

The crazy dude is still standing off with police.

Here is something that he is quoted as saying:

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Tag

The tractor dude has caused enough problems here > my vote is just take him out......!



Also F*** the French

Nija

and that has what to do with the guy in the tractor in the water?

Cantacuzene

Is he caught in the act of commiting a crime for which lethal force is justified? Is he fleeing from the scene of a crime in which lethal force is justified?

My vote of to wait for him to fall asleep.

gear02

He's been there for 2 days now. Doesn't he sleep???

Besides, I think he's screwing the traffic in DC. That's always a bad thing.

molecularfire

I say we throw some tear gas cannisters, but instead of tear gas, just put some pot in it and light it up. He'll fall asleep pretty fast, and heck even if he didn't he would not care if the cops arrested him at that stage.

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Disclaimer - The above opinion should not be taken as medical advise. My only advise is to talk to your doctor. If you are stupid enough to take anything I say seriously, you have nobody to blame for your cranio-anal inversion but your stupid self.

I may not be smart enough to do everything but I am dumb enough to try anything. - Beastboy.

chadlnc

He gave up! Apparently he said he had explosives, so I would say this went a little beyond an acceptable protest. I heard that they had been firing concussion grenades at him to keep him awake in hopes he would give up.

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gear02

How about using some of those elephant tranquilizers? Worked well in the Simpsons...