Among the 23 charges filed against the Denver tractor chase suspect are allegations that he bit a police dog
A stolen tractor and ensuing police chase came to an end on 15th Street downtown between Blake and Market Streets, July 20, 2018. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)
The man who took Denver Police on a slow-speed chase downtown atop a tractor has been formally charged with 23 offenses, including charges stemming from him allegedly biting and choking a police dog.
The Denver District Attorney’s office said in a release Friday that Thomas Busch is facing 23 offenses related to a chase last Friday that started after he allegedly stole a tractor from Denver Water and ended after police rammed a cruiser into the tractor in downtown Denver.
Police said Busch was involved in hit-and-run accidents after allegedly stealing the tractor.
The charges include one count of cruelty to a certified police working dog. The DAs release included a timeline of Busch’s alleged crimes, which include, “attacks police K-9 (bites and chokes K-9)” right before he was taken into custody on Friday night. Busch also allegedly almost struck a pedestrian near 26th Avenue and North Williams Street while he eluded Denver Police officers.
The 23 charges include:
- One count of menacing
- Three counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft
- Three counts of failure to report an accident or return to the scene
- Four counts of careless driving
- One count of vehicular assault
- One count of leaving the scene of an accident
- Three counts of second-degree criminal trespass
- Three counts of criminal mischief
- One count of criminal attempt to commit aggravated motor vehicle theft
- One count of vehicular eluding
- One count of resisting arrest
- One count of cruelty to a certified police working dog
Busch is scheduled to appear in court July 30 for advisement.
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