A Colorado man ‘intentionally’ rammed his pickup truck through the front doors of a police station after he claimed people were ‘following him,’ causing up $1million of damage, police said.
Nathan David Chacon, 45, crashed his 2007 Chevrolet Silverado through the glass doors and into the lobby of the Grand Junction Police Station at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday before coming to a stop at the counter, footage released by the department shows.
There were 11 employees working in offices behind the counter at the time, according to Chacon’s affidavit. Nobody was injured by the vehicle.
Officers ran to the lobby pointing their guns and ordered Chacon to exit the full-size pickup, the footage reveals. After being ordered to get on the floor by one armed officer, the man can be seen lying face down with his arms spread.
Officers ran to the lobby pointing their guns and ordered Nathan David Chacon, 45, to exit the full-size pickup, the footage shows
After being ordered to get on the floor by one armed officer, the man can be seen lying face down with his arms spread
Chacon was then taken into custody without incident.
He did not need medical assistance and was put in a holding cell where he voluntarily talked to the police.
Chacon was arrested and charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, attempted vehicular assault, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
According to the affidavit, there have been at least 90 calls for Chacon over the last few years, during which he reported ‘strange happenings that have been unfounded’.
He had called the police several times in the days leading up to the crash and would swear at officers on phone calls and then hang up angrily, according to the arrest affidavit. It is not clear what he had reported to them.
Chacon told police that on Thursday morning he was ‘being followed’ by multiple vehicles as he drove out of Colorado, causing him to take side strides to avoid them.
Footage from outside of the police department shows the vehicle driving into the parking lot before taking a sharp left turn through the front doors.
Grand Junction Police Station posted about the incident on social media
Footage from outside of the police department shows the vehicle shoot into the parking lot
In the parking lot Chacon took a sharp left turn through the front doors of the Grand Junction Police Station
Chacon crashed his 2007 Chevrolet Silverado through glass doors and into the lobby of the police station at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday
Chacon came to a stop at the counter, footage released by the department shows
An officer aimed a gun at Chacon and ordered him to get down on the floor
Chacon followed the orders. He was then taken into custody without incident. Chacon was arrested and charged with attempted murder, attempted assault, attempted vehicular assault, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment
Chacon told police officers that when he drove into the parking lot ‘he did not want to be killed, so he chose to drive into the lobby’. He told the officer he was aware that it was a ‘dumb’ idea, but he felt compelled to do it ‘in order to be heard’.
The Grand Junction police department said in a social media post on Wednesday that the lobby is closed for an unknown period of time but the department remains operational.
Damages to the lobby, entrance doors and bulletproof window panes are estimated to be between $100,000 and $1,000,000, police said.
Last week, a huge pileup involving nine semi-trucks and 12 cars in Colorado shut down a 160-mile stretch of the I-70.
The disruption came on Wednesday afternoon as a winter storm struck the Denver area, bringing violent winds and leaving roads covered in snow.
Some of the semis involved in the crash suffered from damaged gas tanks and hazmat teams were deployed in an attempt to contain spills, a spokesperson for the Colorado State Patrol said.
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