State to pay in dozer death of pot grower

READING, Pa. — The state will pay $475,000 to the estate of a man who died underneath a bulldozer that Pennsylvania State Police troopers 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 and Grateful Dead fan, 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 the state police had commandeered in pursuit.

The lawsuit by Longenecker’s family contended that the 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. The settlement did not require the state agencies to admit wrongdoing.

A prosecutor who investigated Longenecker’s death 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.

Berks County District Attorney John Adams said his office stands by its investigation, “and to date we have not been provided with any evidence contrary to our investigative findings.”