Officer Indicted on the Charge of Manslaughter in Connection with the 2018 Fatal Shooting of Alan Greenough
This article updated 4:27 pm
Reading, MA — Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan today announced that a Middlesex County Grand Jury has indicted Officer Erik Drauschke, Reading Police Department, on the charge of manslaughter in connection with the 2018 fatal shooting of Alan Greenough.
After more than two and a half years, an investigation into this incident determined that just prior to 4:00 pm., on February 3, 2018, multiple Reading Police officers responded to the East Coast Gas and Service Station located on Main Street in Reading. The station is a mixed-use location with both a gas and repair station as well as two residential apartments.
On that date, Reading Police had received a report of an alleged domestic assault and battery committed by Greenough, a 43-year-old resident, upon two other residents. The police had responded to that same location for similar allegations involving Greenough and the same two victims on the previous night.
When they responded to the residence on the afternoon of February 3, the Reading Police intended to not only investigate the current allegations but also to arrest Greenough for the incident that had occurred the prior evening.
Upon arrival at the residence, the police allegedly learned that Greenough had locked himself in his apartment. Officers had discussions through the locked doors and windows with Greenough, allegedly asking him to surrender to them peacefully. Greenough was allegedly agitated and, at one point, had an approximately three-foot-long broken table leg in his hands as he yelled from a window to the police. Greenough subsequently was able to exit the residence by climbing out a back window of his apartment. Once the officers saw the open window, they began to set up a perimeter search of the area.
Drauschke began to search the south portion of the property, which consisted of numerous parked cars in varying states of repair. He allegedly saw a man fitting Greenough’s description sitting in a car parked in this area. The car doors were closed and the vehicle was parked in a way that it could not have been able to be utilized to flee the scene. Drauschke allegedly approached the vehicle alone and did not wait for assistance even though other police officers were in close proximity. Greenough is not alleged to have made any attempt to flee or to make any threatening gestures towards the officer while in the vehicle.
Drauschke opened the car door and subsequently took out his service firearm as he ordered Greenough out of the car. Greenough allegedly exited the car with both of his hands inside his sweatshirt pocket.
At this point, Greenough allegedly came quickly toward the defendant, refusing to take his hands out of his pockets and yelling, “…Shoot me, shoot me…”. Drauschke allegedly began to back up, then fired twice, striking Greenough in the chest. Greenough was unarmed and a search of the area did not yield any weapons. Greenough was transported from the scene and subsequently died as a result of his injuries.
Town Manager Robert LeLacheur and Police Chief David Clark report that Drauschke, who has been employed by the Reading Police Department since September 2006, has been on paid administrative leave since the incident on February 3, 2018, consistent with the department’s collective bargaining agreement. As a result of today’s indictment, that leave has been changed to unpaid pending the outcome of the court proceedings.
“The Reading Police Department has cooperated fully with the district attorney’s investigation over the past two-and-a-half years, and the agency will continue to cooperate fully,” Chief Clark confirmed.
Drauschke will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a date that has not yet been scheduled. These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Related Articles:
February 3, 2018: Statement on Reading Officer-Involved Shooting
February 12, 2018: Middlesex DA & Reading Chief Statement Regarding Officer-Involved Shooting
