Cops crushed man to death with bulldozer after finding 10 cannabis plants

A man was crushed to death by a bulldozer driven by authorities after they discovered he was growing cannabis plants.

Gregory Longenecker, 51, was found dead under the bulldozer’s treads with ‘virtually all the bones from his pelvis to his collarbone either crushed, broken or lacerated’ in July 2018 at a wooded field in Bernville, Pennsylvania.

On Monday, Longenecker’s family filed a federal lawsuit that claims a state trooper and game commission employee behaved recklessly by chasing Longenecker in the heavy machinery.

Greg Longenecker appears in this undated photo provided by his family. A federal lawsuit filed Monday, March 18, 2019, accuses Pennsylvania State Police of gross recklessness for using a bulldozer to chase and inadvertently run over and kill Longenecker, who had fled after being caught growing marijuana on public land. (Courtesy of Longenecker Family via AP)
Greg Longenecker, 53 was run over and killed when he fled after being caught growing marijuana on public land. (Picture: Longenecker Family via AP)

Police responded to the field after a game commissioner found Longenecker’s car, which was parked in an area that was off-limits for motor vehicles. Officers arrived a short time later and found ten mature marijuana plants with watering bottles, trimming shears, liquid fertilizer, and other paraphernalia used to grow the plants, according to the Washington Post.

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At that time, Longenecker was at the grow sight with a friend, David Light, 54. When confronted by police, Light was immediately arrested, but Longenecker disappeared into thick brush that was overgrown in the area. Police said that they believed he had used pruning shears to cut an escape route.

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‘I’ve never seen underbrush that this. It was crazy how thick it was,’ Pennsylvania State Trooper David Beohm told Lehigh Valley Live.

For hours, authorities searched for Longenecker using a helicopter to track his movements, but they lost sight of him. A trooper and the game commissioner hopped on the bulldozer and began forging a path through the dense bushes.

According to an investigation by the Berks County District Attorney’s Office, Longenecker had intentionally crawled under the bulldozer to hide when it came to a 30-second stop. When the vehicle started moving again, Longenecker became stuck under the treads and was crushed.

Longenecker was caught under the tread of the bulldozer as it cleared brush (Picture: Berks County District Attorney’s Office)
Man growing marijuana is crushed to death by a bulldozer as he hid from police in bushes while they drove the machine across a field trapping him underneath Gregory A. Longenecker, 51, was flattened by the bulldozer as he tried to hide Police say they didn't see him as they pursued him across a field Longenecker had ten marijuana plants that he had been growing illegally Critics have said the police response was overboard as they used a helicopter and bulldozer over a relatively small amount of marijuana plants By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER PUBLISHED: 09:51 EDT, 29 August 2018 | UPDATED: 10:07 EDT, 29 August 2018 e-mail 38 shares 121 View comments A man from Pennsylvania who was growing marijuana on land owned by the state was crushed by a bulldozer that police were using to look for him. Gregory A. Longenecker died in a gruesome manner after he was crushed by the treads of the machine as it moved over a field. Unbeknownst to state police, the 51-year-old man had crawled underneath the bulldozer as he attempted to hide from cops who had spotted his car parked in the middle of the field. Gregory A. Longenecker, 51, was flattened by the bulldozer as he tried to hide from police +6 Gregory A. Longenecker, 51, was flattened by the bulldozer as he tried to hide from police Police say they didn't see him as they pursued him across a field but Longenecker became trapped underneath the bulldozer's treads +6 Police say they didn't see him as they pursued him across a field but Longenecker became trapped underneath the bulldozer's treads At one point, the machine briefly came to a halt but then started up once again slowly driving the bulldozer in a 45-degree angle and, in doing so, crushing and killing Longenecker. District Attorney John Adams announced that the state police search was 'reasonable and conducted in a safe manner,' and determined that Longenecker's death was an accident according to WGAL. Adams said that police had no idea that Longenecker had crawled under the bulldozer as they searched for him in a field. 'It is unfortunate that a life was lost and our condolences go out to the Longenecker family,' Adams said. 'However, I support the actions of the Pennsylvania State Police.' RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Mollie Tibbetts reward money to be returned to donors after... Two Kansas deputies injured as gunman storms office and... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share The coroner said Longenecker was under the influence of methadone, amphetamine and cannabinoid at the time of his death which would have 'impaired his judgement, perception and coordination.' +6 The coroner said Longenecker was under the influence of methadone, amphetamine and cannabinoid at the time of his death which would have 'impaired his judgement, perception and coordination.' Critics have said the police response was overboard as they used a helicopter and bulldozer over a relatively small amount of marijuana plants +6 Critics have said the police response was overboard as they used a helicopter and bulldozer over a relatively small amount of marijuana plants Longenecker and another man, David B. Light, 54, of Sinking Spring were allegedly tending to around 10 marijuana plants hidden in the field when a when a state Game Commission employee on a bulldozer spotted their parked car at about 10am on July 9. The sight immediately drew suspicion because the car was parked on the field, which is normally only used by Game Commission farmers and their tractors. An employee from the Game Commission called Bernville police who saw the two men come out of thick underbrush. Light was caught as he tried to run away, but Longnecker darted back into the field and went into the underbrush. State police then used a helicopter to search for Longenecker and even used a speaker urging him to surrender. Longenecker had ten marijuana plants that he had been growing illegally +6 Longenecker had ten marijuana plants that he had been growing illegally Although officers spotted him briefly, they quickly lost track of him because the brush was too thick to walk through. A Game Commission employee and a state trooper decided to use a bulldozer in order to get through the thick underbrush, guided by the helicopter from above in a 'slow methodical indirect path towards the suspect,' Adams said. Another man, David B. Light, 54, of Sinking Spring was caught after he tried to run away for allegedly tending to around 10 marijuana plants +6 Another man, David B. Light, 54, of Sinking Spring was caught after he tried to run away for allegedly tending to around 10 marijuana plants It was only after the bulldozer stopped and then moved forward 10 feet in a 45-degree angle and stopped that the trooper and Game Commission employee found Longenecker dead under the rear of the machine. The police have come in for criticism in the way they went about the search with many saying they went over-the-top in their response by calling in a helicopter and using a bulldozer over 10 marijuana plants. An autopsy performed by forensic pathologist Neil Hoffman found that Longenecker placed himself in between the treads of the bulldozer and then became caught under the treads as the bulldozer made a turn toward the left. Longenecker was under the influence of methadone, amphetamine and cannabinoid at the time of his death which would have 'impaired his judgement, perception and coordination.'
David B. Light, 54, of Sinking Spring was caught after he tried to run away for allegedly tending to around 10 marijuana plants (Picture: Berks County Sheriff’s Department)

The official cause of death was ruled to be acute compression of the chest, meaning he was killed under the weight of the bulldozer.

Longnecker’s death sparked outrage among family members and friends, who held a rally to protest his death. His family’s lawsuit highlights the fact that, although recreational marijuana remains illegal in Pennsylvania, it is decriminalized and, if arrested and prosecuted, Longenecker would have likely been sentenced to probation.

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‘The heavy-handed tactics employed cannot be justified by the seizure of ten plants. I do not understand why law enforcement couldn’t simply wait. A vehicle was on scene and another individual was taken into custody. Rip the plants, run the plate and ask the arrestee what his friend’s name is. How difficult is that?’ said Patrick Nightingale, the executive director of Pittsburgh’s National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

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Ultimately, the local district attorney’s office held that the death was accidental and also found that he was under the influence of methadone, marijuana, and an amphetamine.

This is a diagram by the Berks County District Attorney’s office created during an investigation of the incident (Picture: Berks County District Attorney’s Office)

‘The levels of methadone and methamphetamine are in the toxic level. The decedent’s judgement, perception and coordination would have been considerably impaired at the time of his death due to this intoxication,’ Dr. Neil Hoffman, who performed the autopsy, said.

Longenecker’s family is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit, which names Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the trooper as defendants.

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