See Denver Tractor Chase Suspect Thomas Busch and 20 Craziest Tweets

On Monday, July 23, Thomas Busch, 37, seen in the just-released booking photo above, made his first court appearance related to a chase through downtown Denver aboard a stolen tractor on the evening of Friday, July 20.
By Michael Roberts

Denver Police Department
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On Monday, July 23, Thomas Busch, 37, seen in the just-released booking photo above, made his first court appearance related to a chase through downtown Denver aboard a stolen tractor on the evening of Friday, July 20.

But as is clear from the Twitter reaction to the bizarre incident, the stunt generated as much delight as terror – though the former response carries some guilt with it.

One tweeter wrote: “Fucking awesome…. I mean, not the injuries…but everything else about this!”

According to the Denver Police Department, Busch, a man with a long rap sheet, allegedly stole the tractor from City Park around 8:30 p.m. on the 20th, prompting a chase that involved dozens of police vehicles over the course of around thirty minutes and a couple of miles.

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The episode finally ended in LoDo, but not without a considerable amount of damage to cars in the area, plus injuries to two police officers and Busch himself, who was taken into custody following an encounter with K-9 dogs.

Immediately after news about the tractor looniness broke, social media exploded with videos and commentary, including plenty of messages characterizing what went down as a prime example of why they love Denver.

The reaction is another reason why we love the Mile High City, too. Count down our twenty favorite tweets below.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

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