Family: Shooting Of Reading Man 'Never Should Have Happened'

READING, MA — The indictment of a Reading police officer on manslaughter charges brings the family of the man he killed in February 2018 "some peace," but they remain "absolutely stunned at the lack of justification for the shooting," their attorney said Thursday.

"It never should have happened,"Victor Koufman, an attorney for the family of Alan Greenough, said in an email to Patch.

A Middlesex County grand jury indicted Eric Drauschke, a 14-year veteran of the Reading Police Department, on one count of manslaughter Wednesday. The indictment came 2 1/2 years after Feb. 3, 2018, when prosecutors say Drauschke shot and killed Greenough.

"Yesterday, the family finally found some peace when the Grand Jury determined there was no justification for the shooting by returning an indictment against the officer for manslaughter," Koufman said. "The family is still mourning and trying to process what has happened; they still need time to digest what happened."

Peter Pasciucco, Drauschke's attorney, said he was "disappointed" with the indictment and expects his client to be fully exonerated.

"Officer Drauschke is a terrific individual and highly regarded within the Reading Police Department," Pasciucco wrote. "His actions in this particular situation were entirely consistent with his extensive training and the use of deadly force was warranted. We look forward to a trial where - as opposed to a grand jury - we don't deal in probabilities."

Previously: Reading Cop Indicted In Fatal 2018 Shooting

Koufman said Greenough's brother, Anthony Perrotti, "suffered the shock" of seeing Greenough on his knees near the car where he was shot. Their mother, Catherine Rawson, was "absolutely stunned" when she heard of the shooting, Koufman told Patch.

Greenough, 43, was shot twice by Drauschke on Feb. 3, 2018. Drauschke was one of several officers searching for Greenough, who fled his apartment after police responded to a report of a domestic assault. Prosecutors said Greenough rushed Drauschke with his hands in a sweatshirt pocket, yelling, "Shoot me, shoot me!"

But Drauschke initially found Greenough sitting in a parked car, not threatening the officer or attempting to flee, prosecutors said. Drauschke did not wait for backup before pulling his gun and ordering Greenough out of the car, prosecutors said.

"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," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan's office said in a statement. "The defendant allegedly approached the vehicle alone and did not wait for assistance even though other police officers were in close proximity."

Police officers have a dangerous job and "should not be expected to gamble with their own safety when faced with legitimate threats," Pasciucco said.

Family Was Kept In The Dark

Koufman said Perrotti and Rawson were kept in the dark about the details of the shooting for more than a year and a half while it was investigated. When they learned what happened, they were "absolutely stunned at the lack of justification for the shooting," Koufman said.

Greenough had been accused of assaulting two other residents of his apartment, as well as assaulting the same two people the previous night, police said.

Arriving officers found Greenough locked himself in his apartment. They pleaded with him to surrender to them peacefully, prosecutors said, but he became agitated, holding a 3-foot broken table leg in his hands as he yelled at them from a window.

Greenough fled through a back window of the apartment, the DA's office said. Drauschke then found a man fitting Greenough's description sitting in a parked car. The encounter resulted in Drauschke shooting Greenough twice in the chest, prosecutors said.

Greenough later died from his injuries. Prosecutors said Greenough was unarmed, and police did not find any weapons during a search of the area.

"On the one hand, nothing will bring Alan back, but on the other hand, the District Attorney’s Office is on track to holding the officer accountable," Koufman said. "The family thanks ADA Tom Brant for his presentation to the Grand Jury and the Grand Jury for providing this much needed relief to the family."

Drauschke was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the indictment was announced Wednesday. He had been on paid administrative leave since the day of the shooting.

Drauschke will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date.