Bristol County DA concludes officer involved fatal shooting on Route 6 was justified

The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office has released their findings in a fatal officer involved shooting on Route 6.

On Sunday, November 28th, 2021, at 6:40 a.m., the Seekonk Police department received an alarm call showing a breaking and entering and movement inside of New England Tire located at 1416 Fall River Avenue (Route 6) in the Town of Seekonk, Massachusetts. In addition to signaling the police, the breaking and entering activated an audible alarm at the business. The first officer to respond to the call (“first responding officer”) was working his normal shift of midnight to 8:00 a.m. He was in a marked police cruiser, and he was assigned to the part of town where the business is located. The second officer to respond to the call (“’second responding officer”) was assigned to the same shift in another part of town. He also responded in a marked police cruiser as backup.

As he approached the business, the first responding officer saw a male wearing a red t-shirt walking quickly along Route 6 heading westbound by the driving range. This location was just west of the School Street intersection. At 6:47 a.m., the first responding officer arrived at the tire store and confirmed the break-in. He could see that an exterior glass panel had been pushed in on one of the garage bay doors of the business. The person who broke-in was no longer present at the business.

At 6:50 a.m., the second responding officer saw the man described by the first officer further west on Route 6. The man was later identified as 47-year-old Jeffrey Groulx. Groulx was walking over a grassy area towards the parking lot of Kohl’s located at 1 Commerce Way in Seekonk. The second officer saw the suspect enter a black Honda Civic. The second CCC officer drove into the Kohl’s parking lot and approached the Honda as it began to leave. As the second officer pulled his cruiser close to the Honda, the officer signaled the vehicle to stop. The officer signaled Groulx to stop by turning on his blue lights. Groulx did not stop. Instead,
Groulx drove through a stop sign and continued toward the exit. He accelerated his vehicle to put distance between himself and the police cruiser. The encounter was captured by nearby video surveillance.

At the intersection of the shopping center exit and Route 6, the Honda turned left, exiting on the wrong side of the roadway. The eastbound and westbound lanes of Route 6 are divided by a Median for approximately 550 feet east of the shopping center exit. Groulx fled at a high rate of speed in an easterly direction. This was also captured by the surveillance video. The Honda’s direction of travel was now towards the tire store and the first officer was in his vehicle driving in the direction of the Kohl’s parking lot. The second officer exited the parking lot a distance behind the Honda and followed behind. The second officer was on the correct side of the roadway. Route 6 has two lanes of travel in both directions.

At 06:50 a.m., the second officer radioed to dispatch that he was pursuing the vehicle west on Route 6 in the direction of the tire store. As he followed behind the Honda, the second officer could see that Groulx was driving at an excessive speed and was on the wrong side of the road. In the circumstances, the second officer determined that he would not be able to keep up with Groulx and he did not attempt to further close the distance from behind. Prior to the School Street intersection, Groulx crossed back into the eastbound lanes of travel. As he approached the School Street intersection at a high rate of speed, Groulx braked and turned hard toward the right, consistent with an attempt to turn right onto School Street. Groulx lost control of the vehicle and struck a curb on the east side of the intersection. The vehicle flipped over and went down an embankment in front of a business located at 10 School Street. Groulx’s driving and crash at the vicinity of the School Street intersection was captured on a number of different video systems. The video has been obtained and viewed by investigators. One of the video systems contained audio of the incident and investigators have been able to synchronize the audio recording with video surveillance of the incident. The Honda came to rest on the passenger’s side doors with the front of the car facing in a westerly direction.

Within seconds, both officers arrived at the location of the crash. The first officer stopped his cruiser in the right-hand lane a short distance west of the Honda. The second officer continued past the first officer’s cruiser and stopped his cruiser in the left-hand travel lane. The second officer immediately called for an ambulance and initiated a rescue response. The first officer exited his cruiser and ran towards the front of the crashed Honda to render aid.

The second officer also exited his cruiser, and he too began to move toward the Honda. Neither officer had their weapons drawn.

When the first officer approached to within a few feet of the vehicle, Groulx fired at least two gunshots from inside of the Honda. Both officers heard the gunshots and the shots were captured on the audio recording of the incident. From his vantage point, the second officer saw the back window of the vehicle blow out with the firing of the second shot. He saw parts of an AK-47 style rifle.

The second officer saw Groulx’s head, arm, and the front of a rifle exit the back of the vehicle through the blown-out rear window. The second officer yelled “gun” to the first officer. The second officer then fired his service weapon six times into the vehicle. The first officer saw Groulx come out of the back of the vehicle and turn the rifle towards him. He fired his service weapon four times into the vehicle. After the officers fired their weapons, the second officer stated that he did not see the male moving. He yelled to the first officer to take cover because both officers were exposed in their current locations and backup had not yet arrived on scene.

The synchronized video and audio establish that Groulx fired from inside of the stolen Honda as the officers approached without their weapons drawn. The officers drew their weapons and returned fire only after Groulx fired at least two times.

After a third officer arrived, all three officers approached the vehicle to render aid to the Groulx. The officers could see that the rifle-wielding suspect was the only person in the vehicle.

As they prepared to make their medical assessment, they saw the rifle and Groulx’s hand move. They told Groulx to show his hands, and when he did not comply the three withdrew from the Honda to await further assistance.

The scene was secured pending the arrival of a SWAT team from the Southeastern Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council. A tactical robot was used to confirm that there was no further danger. At 8:58 a.m. Seekonk Fire Department determined that Groulx was deceased.

After an autopsy, the Medical Examiner determined that Groulx died from two gunshot wounds. The most significant wound was a fatal perforating gunshot wound to the head. There was an additional penetrating wound to the left hip. Groulx’s rifle was a US manufactured AK 47 style weapon, RAK 47. The rifle fires 7.62 mm rounds. When the rifle was recovered, it had a magazine capable of holding 30 rounds of ammunition inserted into the weapon. There was one live round in the chamber of the weapon and 23 live rounds remaining in the magazine. Inside of the stolen Honda, investigators recovered another loaded 30 round magazine. There were 28 live rounds loaded in this magazine. Investigators recovered three discharged 7.62 cartridge casings, showing that the rifle was fired three times at the scene. At the time it was recovered, the rifle was damaged by the impact of one of the bullets fired at Groulx. Groulx was not a resident of Massachusetts. Groulx’s possession of the rifle, ammunition, and high-capacity magazines in Massachusetts was in violation of the law.

Groulx had an extensive criminal record in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Louisiana. At the time of his death, he had multiple warrants for his arrest in New Hampshire, including a parole violation warrant. Groulx also had and a warrant out of Burlington,
Massachusetts for charges in the Woburn District Court. Groulx had previously been charged as a fugitive from justice in the state of Louisiana after he fled from police when he was charged for multiple armed robberies in 2003.

Groulx was wanted on a New Hampshire state parole warrant. Groulx was released to parole following the conclusion of multiple Massachusetts state prison sentences and a New Hampshire state prison sentence. Beginning in 2003 and continuing into 2004 Groulx was
charged in five different counties in Massachusetts with committing Armed Robberies and various other crimes. Groulx pleaded guilty to 16 separate counts of Armed Robbery, and he was sentenced to serve a maximum of 18 years in the Massachusetts State Prison.” While he was serving his sentence in Massachusetts, Groulx was brought to the New Hampshire state court where he pleaded guilty to an additional case of Armed Robbery. In New Hampshire, Groulx was sentenced to prison for a maximum of 16 years. This sentence was imposed concurrent with his Massachusetts sentence. In February of 2019, while he was still serving his sentences, Groulx escaped from the New Hampshire State Prison. He fled to Massachusetts where he was arrested in March of 2019. Groulx was returned to New Hampshire, and he was paroled in January of 2020. In June of 2020, Groulx was arrested by police in New Hampshire after fleeing from a police officer who attempted to stop him. After his arrest, police found illegal drugs in the car that he was driving. As a result, in July of 2020, New Hampshire parole sought a warrant for Groulx’s arrest. Groulx was re-admitted to parole in New Hampshire in January of 2021. In May of 2021, New Hampshire parole authorities again sought a warrant for Groulx. In their warrant request, parole alleged numerous parole violations beginning with failing to report to parole in March of 2021. New Hampshire State Parole issued a warrant for Groulx’s arrest. He continued to be a fugitive on that warrant on November 28, 2021.

The findings concluded that on the morning of November 28, 2021, Jeffrey Groulx was a heavily armed, fleeing felon. Groulx had a long history of using deadly weapons in the perpetration of his violent criminal acts. After losing control over the stolen automobile, he was fleeing in, which made his capture likely, Groulx almost immediately started to fire his rifle. At the time Groulx began to fire the rifle, the officers were approaching Groulx attempting to render aid or assistance. The sudden and unexpected firing of the rifle by Groulx reasonably caused the officers to fear that they would be killed or suffer serious bodily injury. Due to the details of the incident, it was determined that the two officers were justified in using deadly force and no crimes were committed.