Not digging it: Vermont state troopers arrest man who attacked them with excavator

BURLINGTON, Vt. — A Vermont man is accused of attacking state troopers with an excavator after his son was accused of burglary and assault, authorities said.

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Wayne Tallman, 52, of Hardwick, pleaded not guilty in Caledonia County criminal court to felony counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer by threatening them with a deadly weapon and impeding a public officer and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and reckless endangerment, the Barre Montpelier Times Argus reported.

His wife, Amy Tallman, 48, of Hardwick, is accused of attempting to impede troopers, the Newport Dispatch reported.

The Tallmans’ son, Brandon Tallman, 24, of Elmore, pleaded not guilty by video in Washington County criminal court to felony counts of aggravated assault and burglary into an occupied dwelling and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and unlawful mischief, according to the Times Argus.

According to Vermont State Police Capt. Matt Daley, troopers arrived to arrest Brandon Tallman from a June 12 incident, the newspaper reported.

“It could have been, ‘Sir, turn around, put your hands around your back, you’re under arrest for an assault,’ and they would have driven away,” Daley told WCAX-TV.

Attorney Maggie Vincent, who represented Brandon Tallman at his arraignment, said that her client told her one of the victims threw a bottle at his head when he drove by the home, the Times Argus reported. He appeared to have a mark in the middle of his forehead while appearing by video at the hearing, according to the newspaper.

Vermont state trooper Skylar Velasquez wrote in an affidavit that on June 14 he went to Wayne and Amy Tallman’s home to arrest their son, the Times Argus reported. However, the trooper said Brandon Tallman resisted arrest.

According to Velasquez, he and fellow trooper Gabe Schrauf were impeded by Wayne and Amy Tallman, WCAX reported.

At that point, Wayne Tallman, who owns an excavation company in Hardwick, got into the cab of an excavator parked in the driveway, the television station reported.

Velasquez said Wayne Tallman swung the bucket of the machine over the trooper’s cruiser, threatening to crush it, the Times Argus reported. Velasquez added that the machine dropped dirt and debris on his cruiser’s hood, windshield and roof.

Velasquez said Wayne Tallman was told to get out of the excavator, but he refused and swung the bucket toward the trooper’s head, according to the trooper’s affidavit.

“They don’t have a scenario at the academy where we practice this one,” Daley told WCAX.

Wayne Tallman was subsequently arrested. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, the Times Argus reported. He was ordered held without bail at Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury. If convicted, Brandon Tallman faces a maximum sentence of 41 years and six months in prison. He was released to the custody of his mother.

Amy Tallman is scheduled to appear in court in St. Johnsbury on Aug. 20 to answer the charge of impeding troopers, the newspaper reported.

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