Airport dust-up got nasty, trooper says

Motorist in SUV accused of assault

Perhaps you've been there, idling in front of an airport terminal hoping your family member or long-lost college buddy appears before the approaching state trooper shoos you away. Margaret M. Greer was told to move along Sunday evening as she waited for her husband at Logan Airport, but police say she didn't go quietly - and ended up in court because of it.

Greer, a portfolio manager from Wellesley, allegedly lowered the window of her Mercedes Benz ML320 SUV just an inch when the trooper, Sergeant Danial Wildgrube, approached and told her she would have to move because she was obstructing traffic in a bus lane. Greer merely pointed to a nearby vehicle and told him to take care of that motorist first, Wildgrube said in his report of the incident. He said he repeated the demand, but she shut her window and ignored him.

What ensued before shocked onlookers was a protracted confrontation in which, court papers allege, Greer nearly ran the trooper over as she repeatedly drove out of reach, only to be chased down by the trooper as he tried in vain to wrest Greer from her car.

"I'm not stopping the car! Get away from me," Greer shouted repeatedly, according to one witness, George Kaniwec.

Greer, 57, was charged yesterday in East Boston District Court with assault and battery on a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, and failure to stop for a police officer. Her lawyer, Carol Starkey, entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, and Greer is to return to court May 13 for a preliminary hearing.

"Mrs. Greer is a highly respected member of the community and has pled not guilty to all allegations," Starkey said later. "There are two sides to every story, and we strongly contest the facts as presented by the Commonwealth and look forward to presenting our side of the story. It's very upsetting and traumatizing to her. . . . Anyone who has picked up or dropped off anyone at the airport may understand there's two sides to the story."

Wellesley Town Clerk Kathleen Nagle said Greer served two terms on the five-member elected School Committee, from 1995 to 2000, and served from 1995 to 2003 as an elected member of Town Meeting. Greer did not return calls made yesterday to her home and to her employer, Citi Smith Barney.

Greer's driving record is mostly clean, with one "at fault" accident in 2004, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

On Sunday, Wildgrube's report says, the trooper got out his ticket book after she refused to move her car and walked to the front of the vehicle to take down the license number. Then, he reported, Greer gunned her engine and sped off, clipping him with her side mirror and forcing him to leap out of the way.

Wildgrube said he yelled at Greer to stop, but she continued driving until she was stopped by traffic a short distance away. The trooper approached again, opened the driver's-side door, and told her to get out because she was under arrest, but Greer refused and drove away again, he alleged.

Wildgrube said he caught up to her a third time as she sat in traffic in front of the terminal. He moved to the front of the vehicle and put his arms up. She allegedly hit the gas again, causing the trooper to place his hands on the hood. "She pushed me approximately 15 feet while I ran backwards fearing that I would fall under the car," Wildgrube wrote. "All the while she was looking directly at me."

Wildgrube said he was forced away from the car again, falling to the ground. He got up, opened the driver's-side door, and attempted to undo her seatbelt, he alleges, but she started driving away, dragging him along.

Wildgrube said he broke free and Greer drove away, but he radioed in her plate number.

Greer was stopped by other state troopers on the Massachusetts Turnpike, near the entrance to the Copley tunnel.

Although troopers said they noticed a slight odor of alcohol on her breath and found a small glass in the vehicle containing an alcoholic beverage, they did not ask Greer to submit to a field sobriety test. David Procopio, spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety, said Greer did not appear to be impaired.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said: "If a trooper asks you to move your car from a bus lane, you do it. . . . The trooper gave her every opportunity to do the right thing and she blew it. Now she's looking at a felony charge."

Brian R. Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com.