Marvin Heemeyer

Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was an American USAF veteran, welder and automobile repair shop owner who demolished numerous buildings, in an act of revenge, with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado, in June 2004. Heemeyer's machine was posthumously labeled by some members of the media and later adopted by some of Heemeyer's supporters as the "Killdozer".

For 12 years, Granby town officials, neighbors of his muffler shop, the local press, and other citizens of Granby had been in disputes with Heemeyer in various ways, including over zoning rules which Heemeyer believed impaired his muffler repair shop's business. Starting in 2002, over about eighteen months, Heemeyer channeled his frustration and secretly armored a huge Komatsu D355A bulldozer with layers of steel and concrete to render it tank-like and referred to it on tapes as "Marv's Komatsu Tank".

On June 4, 2004, Heemeyer used the bulldozer in a vehicle-ramming attack to demolish the Granby town hall, the house of a former mayor, and several other buildings. He killed himself after the bulldozer became stuck in the debris of a hardware store he was destroying. No one else was injured or killed.

Career

In 1974, Heemeyer moved to Colorado, because he was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base.

Opposition to sell to concrete plant

In 1997, the Docheff family planned to expand their business to include a concrete batch plant and were buying up the land around their current lot, hoping to lease the remaining 23 parcels to small manufacturers. He also complained to the Environmental Protection Agency; this resulted in the Docheff family having a professional noise analysis done.

John Bauldree, a friend of Heemeyer's, said that he was a likable person. Heemeyer's brother Ken stated that he "would bend over backwards for anyone." While many people described Heemeyer as an affable person, local resident Christie Baker claimed that she was told that Heemeyer threatened her husband after he refused to pay for a disputed muffler repair.

In 1994, a measure was proposed that would have legalized gambling in Grand Lake and Heemeyer was so passionate about the cause that he nearly came to blows with a local reporter who was opposed to the proposal.

Rampage

On June 4, 2004, starting at around 2:15 p.m., Heemeyer began by driving his armored bulldozer through Mountain Park Concrete, owned by the Docheff family. At the time of the attack, Cody Docheff was at the concrete plant, screening topsoil at the gravel pit, when he got a notification over his radio that there was an explosion at the precast concrete shop. Forced to continue forwards and unaware of a small basement on the property, Heemeyer was lured into driving into the building as a means to hopefully pass through it, drive through the other side and continue his attack. However, the tread of the machine slipped into the basement due to its immense weight, essentially deactivating the machine. The radiator had also been damaged, and the engine was leaking, before failing. As such, it was noted that even if Heemeyer had been able to free himself, the bulldozer would not have been able to operate much longer. Cody Docheff stated that "if Heemeyer truly didn't want to hurt anybody, he would have plundered the center of town on the weekend, when most businesses would have been empty". Others have called his rampage domestic terrorism.

Tread — a 2019 documentary film based on the rampage
"Killdozer" — a 2024 song by Madeline Johnston (performing as 'Midwife')

References

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External links

Destroyed in Seconds video – Discovery Channel
"Man Behind Rampage Found Dead: Rubble Piles Mark Colorado Town" (June 6, 2004) Washington Post.
Denver Channel Article
Audio: Hear from Marvin Heemeyer himself in recorded 'manifesto' – Sky-Hi News. December 1, 2017.
The Heemeyer Tapes at Internet Archive
Tread documentary