DENVER – A man accused of stealing a tractor before leading Denver police on a slow-speed chase through the city also is charged with biting and choking a police dog and stealing two other cars.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Thursday filed 23 charges against 37-year-old Thomas Busch connected to the July 20 incident, including 10 felony-level charges.
It’s not clear whether Busch has an attorney.
The charges include three counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, three counts of failure to report an accident and one count of cruelty to a certified police working dog.
Authorities say Busch stole a car, then a tow truck before taking the tractor from a city water department facility.
A police squad car eventually rammed the tractor’s front end in downtown Denver, stopping it.
The Denver Post said the driver of the tractor suffered multiple police dog bites and was hit with a stun gun before he was arrested. He was taken away in an ambulance.
Two newspaper reported the officers suffered nonlife-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital.
