Vt. state trooper knocked down by all-terrain vehicle during traffic stop

Written by Associated Press

Saturday, April 03, 2010

BETHEL, Vt. — A Vermont state trooper is recovering after being knocked down by an all-terrain vehicle he was trying to stop.

State police say Trooper Paul Feeney walked up to the ATV Friday morning in Bethel and tried to stop it for operating on a public highway. After he told the driver to turn the vehicle off, the man drove away, knocking the officer down.

Feeney followed the ATV onto a side road until it continued on a snowmobile trail. Forty-two-year-old Jeffrey Bedell was later arrested at his home and charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and attempting to elude an officer.

Source: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d113a00070f14c6896541696a8281995/VT--Officer_Injured/

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“As a rancher who leases public lands for cattle, I’ve seen my share of cut fences and rangeland damaged by ORV use. I’ve also experienced ORV trespass onto my private lands. But I’ve had no way to identify the culprits when reporting trespass or illegal ORV use to local law enforcement. Congress should require that ORVs used on public lands have visible identification plates or decals. Doing so would remove the anonymity enjoyed by ORV riders who are bent on breaking the rules.”

- Ambers Thornburgh, second-generation rancher from Oregon who grazes cattle on his private land and adjacent lands leased from the Bureau of Land Management