State Settles Over Crushing of Pot Suspect With Bulldozer

Pennsylvania contends man was high and crawled under the machine
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 16, 2021 5:15 PM CDT
State to Pay Over Pot Suspect's Death in Bulldozer Chase
Mike Carpenter, uncle of Greg Longenecker, walks the Pennsylvania field in 2019 where Longenecker was killed by a bulldozer in 2018.   (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)

The state of Pennsylvania will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that state police had used to chase him for growing a handful of marijuana plants, according to a settlement revealed in court Thursday. Gregory Longenecker, a 51-year-old short-order cook, had fled into thick brush after being caught growing 10 marijuana plants on public land near Reading. His body was found under the treads of a Pennsylvania Game Commission bulldozer that state police had commandeered in pursuit, the AP reports. The lawsuit by Longenecker’s family contended that state police and the game commission took "crazy and lethal action" against an unarmed man who posed no threat, then destroyed or withheld evidence to cover it up. A federal judge is reviewing the settlement and is expected to sign off on it.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Jordan Strokovsky, said outside court Thursday that Longenecker's family is pleased with the settlement but wants "sweeping reforms to prevent such an excessive show of force and tragedy like this in the future." A prosecutor who investigated the case concluded that troopers acted reasonably. Authorities have publicly contended that Longenecker was high on methamphetamine, crawled under the back of the bulldozer when it stopped briefly, and was crushed to death when it started moving again and made a left turn. The lawsuit called that explanation ludicrous, and witness statements cast doubt on the official version. The settlement did not require the state agencies to admit wrongdoing. A state police corporal who rode the bulldozer and a game commission worker who operated it remain on the job.

(More police chase stories.)

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