June 4th... Killdozer Day

[Heel n Toe]

I saw this on Imgur... then checked and it really happened.



Today is a special day. June 4th 2017 marks the 13th anniversary of the Killdozer's rampage through Granby Colorado.

Sit down kids and let me tell you a tale, about a reasonable man driven to do unreasonable things.

Marvin Heemeyer was a man who owned a muffler shop in Granby Colorado. The city council ordained to approve the construction of a concrete factory in the lot across from Marvin's shop. In the process this blocked the only access road to the muffler shop. Marvin petitioned to stop the construction to no avail. Petitioned to construct a new access road, and even bought the heavy machinery to do so himself. Denied.

The concrete factory went up in disregard to the ramifications on Marvin's business. To add insult to injury, the factory construction disconnected the muffler shop from the city sewage lines. An indifferent city government then chose to fine Marvin for this.

His business and livelihood were in ruin. Rather than lie down and die, Marvin chose to fight back. Over the course of a year and a half Marvin secretly outfitted the bulldozer he bought to save his business with three foot thick steel and concrete armor, camera systems guarded with bulletproof glass.

On June 4th 2004 Marvin Heemeyer lowered the armored shell over top of himself, entombing himself inside the Killdozer to make his last stand. He burst fourth from the walls of his muffler shop and straight into the concrete factory that ruined his business.

Over the course of the next several hours Marvin drove his Killdozer through 13 buildings owned by those officials that had wronged him, including the city council building itself.

Swat teams swarmed the dozer, but it proved immune to small arms fire and even explosives. Another piece of heavy machinery was even brought out to fight the Killdozer, but it too fell to the dozers righteous fury.

In the end, Marvin's Killdozer became trapped in one of the buildings it was built to destroy. Marvin chose to take his life, the only life he took that day.

Today we celebrate Killdozer day and Marvin Heemeyer, the last great American folk hero. A man driven to the brink who chose to fight back against an indifferent system.

From notes left behind after his passing: "I was always willing to be reasonable until I had to be unreasonable. Sometimes reasonable men must do unreasonable things."

[wdfifteen]

If you are going off the deep end, do it in style. The guys who get mere firearms and start shooting people have no imagination.

[asphaltgambler]

Great underdog story on the surface - but he didn't live through it, took his own life which is the ultimate crime MO. Had he spent the money on a well connected attorney rather than the bulldozer and the equipment - to fight on their level he may have actually succeeded in his battle, then lived to enjoy his work.

[Ayles]

Bummed this wasn't about the band

[sand_man]

HOLY MOLY! I was unaware of this bit of "history"!

[dad911]

I remember watching that day.

Other reports don't paint him as quite the victim .....Last straw was catching his GF cheating....???

https://www.damninteresting.com/the-wrath-of-the-killdozer/

typical news...... two sides to every story, reporter spins it to their liking.

[sand_man]

reminds me of this hollywood cheese:

[ted]

The 95' San Diego Tank.

[sammyg2]

I give up so I'm going to do something stupid! = Not a solution.

You can fight city hall. It isn't that hard. you just have to fight city hall with a bigger hall.

Get the state senate to fight your battle for you. Or your congressman to do it. Or channel 4 news.
They live for this victim-drama ****.
Can you imagine what Fox news channel would have done with as story like this if they new about it ahead of time?
This is the type of "stuff" that goes viral and gets spread all over every website forum in the world, all he had to do was get the story out and present it in the right way.

but saying F-it I'm gonna build a tank and destroy stuff and get even is definitely NOT the type of behavior we should condone or approve of or (throw up in mouth) IDOLIZE!

[sammyg2]

Read the story linked above, this guy had stupid tattoo'd on his forehead. he picked the fight, created the drama, and played the victim card. no tears.

Heemeyer became involved with politics almost immediately upon establishing his home in Colorado. He was generally well-liked among his friends and neighbors, being described as an “enjoyable person,” and as someone who would “bend over backwards for anyone”. There were some, however, who were more familiar with his volatile temperament. He was a strong proponent of legalizing gambling, and he published at least two newsletters to disseminate his views. When a reporter for a local paper interviewed Heemeyer for an editorial opposed to gambling, he reported that Heemeyer was so enraged by the opposition that the interview nearly came to fisticuffs. In one particularly extreme instance, Heemeyer threatened to kill a customer’s husband when she refused to pay for a faulty muffler repair. “If Marv was your friend, he was your best friend,” said one of Heemeyer’s close associates, “but if he decided that he was your enemy, then he was your worst and most dangerous enemy.”

In the late 1990s the Docheff family approached Heemeyer to buy his one remaining muffler shop in order to build a concrete batch plant on the land. It was a matter of public record that Heemeyer had bought the land for $42,000. Docheff reported that they agreed to buy the land for $250,000, but the deal fell apart when Heemeyer raised the price to $375,000 and reportedly once even mentioned a million. Having grown weary of Heemeyer’s indecisiveness, the Docheffs went to the Granby City Council and sought to re-zone the land surrounding Heemeyer’s muffler shop.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by asphaltgambler

Great underdog story on the surface - but he didn't live through it, took his own life which is the ultimate crime MO. Had he spent the money on a well connected attorney rather than the bulldozer and the equipment - to fight on their level he may have actually succeeded in his battle, then lived to enjoy his work.

Or he could have simply sold the property for a HUGE profit, and moved his little POS muffler shop down the street.
But that would make way too much sense.

It was obvious that he felt it was a better idea to over-react, throw logic out the window, and allow childish emotions to dictate and control his actions.

[Baz]

This guy is my hero.

He fought back in the only way he knew how to.

Our government oversteps itself routinely. Mostly due to a bunch of pointy-headed bureaucrats who couldn't make an honest buck if their freaking life depended on it. Bunch of weak lily-levered parasites!

Here's a perfect example (from the Wiki page) of their chicken-chit approach on how to handle things:

Fate of the bulldozer

On April 19, 2005, it was announced that Heemeyer's bulldozer was being taken apart for scrap metal. It was planned that individual pieces would be dispersed to many separate scrap yards to prevent admirers of Heemeyer from taking souvenirs.

[Baz]

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I give up so I'm going to do something stupid! = Not a solution.

That would depend on what the problem was. I don't think his problem was financial. He was just pissed off and he wanted the world to know it. Good job!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

see... now... here is a perfect case of someone who could have used relaxation breathing.

[Por_sha911]

I understand the frustration at what he decided was a corrupt town that destroyed his business and his life. I bet he had a blast getting even on those that had screwed him over. Too he didn't stay alive to look those people in the eye to see the anguish he gave them.
It is way too tempting to look for revenge but ultimately he was the greatest casualty of his payback. I imagine that his cheating girlfriend may have influenced his decision to kill himself. The price he paid was eternal and none of the people he paid back were worth that.

[dad911]

I'm not sure I agree. I'm leaning nutcase.

Looked at aerials, he had a metal pole barn on a dirt path and they are calling it a muffler shop. Property may have been landlocked, no paved road nearby. Had a deal to sell his property, settled on $250k then wanted a million.

[911 Rod]

You die = you lose

[Por_sha911]

There is no doubt that he was a few french fries short of a happy meal the day he climbed into his machine. The unfairness of the situation pushed him over from temperamental to outright "mad as hell and not going to take it any more".

It may have been that he made someone mad and they were putting the screws to him but remember that he didn't want to sell. He was being forced out by shady back room local politics. He probably had grandfathered environmental exemptions at his shop location that he lost when he was forced to sell/move. He had already lost income from blocked access to his business and spent a lot of time and money fighting the local govt. The cost to buy new property, move his equipment, and become EPA compliant would have been too high.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

There is no doubt that he was a few french fries short of a happy meal the day he climbed into his machine.

He had 18 months to think about the plan. His fry level was thin long ago.

His rage must have been all over the map across that time for him to build gun slots (yet, thankfully, not use them).

However, he was the boss on June 4.