Malden police officer cleared of charges after shooting armed robbery suspect

A Malden police officer who shot a man accused of beating and robbing a woman will not face criminal charges, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced Friday.

On the morning of May 22, Malden Police Officer Amanda Grenier shot Dominique Long, 31, of Malden, while responding to the incident. Ryan’s office said a thorough review concluded that Grenier’s actions did not warrant prosecution.

Grenier was one of several officers who responded to an altercation at 260 Eastern Avenue involving Long and a 43-year-old woman. Prosecutors say Long threw a cup at the woman, who was walking nearby, before hitting her in the head.

After the alleged assault, the victim attempted to record Long with an iPad, but Long allegedly took the device and pointed a knife at her, authorities said.

According to prosecutors, Long continued walking down Eastern Avenue and threatened another person with a knife. Both victims called 911 and told dispatchers that Long had a knife.

Grenier arrived at the scene and attempted to speak to Long, but he would not comply with police orders to drop the items he was carrying, authorities said.

“The suspect then dropped his belongings, pulled a kitchen knife from his pants pocket and advanced toward Officer Cameron Selfridge, one of the responding officers,” Ryan’s office said in a news release. “Police used non-lethal Tasers which were ineffective. As the suspect continued to advance, Officer Amanda Grenier fired her weapon, striking the suspect.”

Long was treated at a nearby hospital and later charged with armed robbery, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, intimidating a witness and battery.

Ryan's office said the investigation found that Grenier had “reasonable grounds to believe that there was imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to Officer Cameron Selfridge and that no means, other than those used, could have prevented such harm.”