Request: Video/Images of stolen tank driven through city

[gregom]

Hey guys... I've been cruising the forums the past few weeks looking at pics. A lot of great stuff you guys have going.

I am looking for video of the stolen tank that was driving through the city (Los Angeles?), this was on the news several years ago. The guy drove through houses, drove over cars, everything, and eventually it all ended by him getting the tank high-centered on a bridge.

If anyone has any video or pictures please post.

Thanks in advance.

[Ian H]

Heard about this, they're doing/done an ER episode where the same occurs.
Tank got stuck on a bridge,the police opened a turret hatch and shot the driver, he died.

[gregom]

Yup... that'd be it... If anyone has any video or know where I can get video I would be greatful.

[budanski]

2 minute footage here (http://play.rbn.com/?url=rbn/bill/g2demand/misc/armor/stolen_M60.rm&proto=rtsp)

[Uninen]

So, what happened to the tank thief? Lethal injection?

[shrek]

Yeah, lead injection in the back of the neck!

[Obergefreiter]

This also happened in Vien a few years ago as well. Any video of that?

The guy got mad because his girl friend left him.

[Maj C]

The cop who shot him was a Marine reservist tanker from Desert Storm so he knew how to open the hatch...speed freak refused to stop moving the tank and he was about to go into opposing traffic so he shot him. It was San Diego.

[Uninen]

Yeah, lead injection in the back of the neck!

Shot him....... damn....... :|

[budanski]

The guy (ex-armor reservist or something) got in a land dispute with the city so he figured he'd get even with them.

[big_les]

The cop who shot him was a Marine reservist tanker from Desert Storm so he knew how to open the hatch...speed freak refused to stop moving the tank and he was about to go into opposing traffic so he shot him. It was San Diego.

About to go into opposing traffic??? He was grounded on the central reservation!!!! He wasn't going anywhere from there, and it seemed to me a little excessive to kill him. And how did the guy know he'd kill or incapacitate the guy? IIRC he fired blind into the hatch. Tear gas dropped through the hatch would have incapacitated him and saved his life.

[Maj C]

The tank was only temporarily immobilized on the central divide...there was still the chance that it would break free as he was still gunning it back and forth. it hadn't thrown a track. whether he should have jumped down or done something else less than lethal is anybody's guess - he did what he thought best. I don't think it was a blind shot - like I said - the cop was a tanker so knew what he was doing. also the driver had been on meth for like 3 days straight so he probably wouldn't have been stopped by any other means...

[Uninen]

also the driver had been on meth for like 3 days straight so he probably wouldn't have been stopped by any other means...

:| In other words, totally out of control, and not just on a tank driving rampage...... if he was on "meth" (amphetamine?).....

But then again, who in his sane and untoxicated mind would go on a tank rampage to begin with.......

[big_les]

The tank was only temporarily immobilized on the central divide...there was still the chance that it would break free as he was still gunning it back and forth. it hadn't thrown a track. whether he should have jumped down or done something else less than lethal is anybody's guess - he did what he thought best. I don't think it was a blind shot - like I said - the cop was a tanker so knew what he was doing. also the driver had been on meth for like 3 days straight so he probably wouldn't have been stopped by any other means...

I suppose. I just remember seeing it and as well as worrying about him hitting people, thinking 'it'll be OK, they'll sort it out soon'. Then seeing Chief Wiggum unloading into the hatch and thinking.... 'damn...'

[Maj C]

Yes I know it seems American cops are a little free when firing weapons. I can't second guess the guy in this case - he's standing on top - the speed freak is still trying to get the tank free - easy to say now hey just jump down there and stick him with a taser...but I think what cops in San Diego have found (Dago was like the Meth capital of the world I think) is that these guys become pretty uncontrollable without lethal force. Funny because the cop who opened the hatch also took my police report when somebody broke into my car and stole my officer's sword. His father is a retired Sgt Maj...

http://www.sdpolicemuseum.com/medalofvalorpage2.htm

[Ian H]

If it had to be done...

Hope you got your sword back Maj C

[WolverineBlue]

The cop who shot him was a Marine reservist tanker from Desert Storm so he knew how to open the hatch...speed freak refused to stop moving the tank and he was about to go into opposing traffic so he shot him. It was San Diego.

About to go into opposing traffic??? He was grounded on the central reservation!!!! He wasn't going anywhere from there, and it seemed to me a little excessive to kill him. And how did the guy know he'd kill or incapacitate the guy? IIRC he fired blind into the hatch. Tear gas dropped through the hatch would have incapacitated him and saved his life.

How do we know if the maniac didn't point a gun at the policeman after the policeman opened the hatch?

[Maj C]

never got the sword back so some nutjob has probably got a mameluke sword with my name engraved on it hanging on his wall...go figure.

I don't think they ever claimed the perp had a gun...they shot him based on his refusal to stop the tank...anyway there was much debate about whether they could have got him alive...we'll never know...

http://beggingdogrecords.tripod.com/tank.html

[Erik_MAA]

When I was an MP at Ft. Carson a soldier stole an M109 and tried to drive it to Denver. We paced him on the freeway until he ran out of gas, then surrendered.

He wasn't as violent as the tank guy in CA though - he wasn't deliberately running over things, etc.

Some here have voiced concern over shooting the driver...A police officer can use deadly force to protect himself or others from the "immediate threat of death or great bodily harm" In this case, the immediate threat was the suspect driving the tank into oncoming traffic, which he was attempting to do.

If you watch the entire CA video, it's obvious that deadly force is warranted, this guy was completely out of control.

[Yes Man]

How long can a tank go before it runs out of gas? Also how does the hatch work on a tank...can you just open it or is it locked from the inside?

[Mark Sman]

When someone goes on a crazy rampage with a Main Battle Tank the use of deadly force is authorized.

Afterwards if some rump thumper wants things to work out different they can sign up to stop the next one.

[American Patriot]

Correciton. Arizona is definately the meth capital of the world.

[sethen]

The cop who shot him was a Marine reservist tanker from Desert Storm so he knew how to open the hatch...speed freak refused to stop moving the tank and he was about to go into opposing traffic so he shot him. It was San Diego.

About to go into opposing traffic??? He was grounded on the central reservation!!!! He wasn't going anywhere from there, and it seemed to me a little excessive to kill him. And how did the guy know he'd kill or incapacitate the guy? IIRC he fired blind into the hatch. Tear gas dropped through the hatch would have incapacitated him and saved his life.

Look American pigs can do whatever they want........................

[gregom]

Thx for posting the video but it doesn't work for me... I even DLed Real Media Player but still didn't work.

If there are any others please post.

About the shooting though, I think it was just. This guy was purposly trying to kill as many people as possible and destroying as much as possible.

Also from what i understand the hatch can be locked from the inside but was not. Also, isn't it standard to have weapons in the tank such as a carbine M-4 or something?

[LordHalbert]

Was he driving the tank backwards or was the turret turned arround - I couldn't tell.

I doubt he was trying to kill people. If he wanted to, i'm sure he could have done so.

It's also physically impossible to gun and drive from the same position - correct me if I'm wrong, so there was no chance of him firing any munitions without leaving the driver's position.

[Mark Sman]

The tank had no rounds for the main gun.

The turret was facing aft, which is common when stored in a tank park.


I doubt he was trying to kill people.

Maybe, but he wasn't worried about it either. He ran through an RV parked on the road. It is fortunate that nobody was killed except the man who stole the tank.

There is no doubt that the officer used justifiable force with a minumum chance that his actions would harm innocent bystanders.


"In a most spectacular example, Shawn Timothy Nelson, 35, a divorced alcoholic, drug-taking plumber, had been watching his life crumble around him. He lost his job, his girlfriend left him, he broke his neck in an accident, and he had recently been evicted from his house. So what the heck - he stole a 57 ton US military M60 tank.

On May 17 1995 in San Diego, Nelson entered a National Guard Armory, started up the heavily armed tank, and headed out for the highway. Barreling through six miles of residentail roads and with 20 police cruisers trailing helplessly behind, Nelson mashed 20 cars, flattened vans, knocked over telephone poles, and squashed a telephone booth and a bus bench. The power lines what were knocked down left 5000 homes without electricity. Fortunately the tank's weapons - a 105 mm cannon, 7.62 mm machine gun and 12.7 mmm anti aircraft gun - were not loaded.


Leaving behind a trail of destroyed vehicles, sprouting hydrands, sideswiped bridges and nail-biting insurance agents, Nelson's rampage finally came to a halt when his tank became immobilized astride a concrete highway divider.


At that point, four police officers leaped onto the tank, opened the hatch with bolt cutters, and shot Nelson to death. "

(source: AAA report)