MANCHESTER, NH – A man broke into Foundry Restaurant and did $250,000 in damage, police say, smashing windows and bottles of alcohol until he was subdued by police with rounds from a bean-bag shotgun. One officer suffered an injury to his hand after dodging a bottle of alcohol thrown at him by the alleged burglar, and then slipping on the wet floor.
According to a police narrative, on July 21, 2020, at approximately 2:43 a.m. members of the Manchester Police Department Patrol Division responded to The Foundry Restaurant, 50 Phillippe Cote Drive, for a reported burglary in progress. Officers Christopher Abele, Thomas Donovan and Sergeant Jared Yaris responded to the area and immediately noticed multiple broken windows on the patio side of the building. They also heard glass shattering from inside the bar area and noted the entire restaurant was in complete disarray due to broken glass and alcohol covering the floor of the restaurant.
They observed a man inside of the restaurant when they entered the premises. The man was later arrested and identified as Michael Grove, 35, of Oak Ridge, TN. Police say Grove was actively destroying the interior of the restaurant by throwing multiple bottles of liquor and breaking other items behind the bar area.
According to police, the officers ordered Grove to stop multiple times, but Grove allegedly ignored their commands and continued throwing bottles of liquor toward the officers. Police used a bean-bag shotgun, also known as a “less-lethal round,” to stop Grove while Grove continued to act aggressively by throwing more liquor bottles at the officers. One of the bottles narrowly missed Sergeant Yaris’ head.
Sergeant Yaris was able to quickly move out of the way before the bottle of liquor struck his head. His quick actions caused him to injure his hand when he lost his footing on the slippery floor and landed on his hand. He immediately got back up and was able to deploy another round, and the second bean-bag round “had the desired effect” on Grove, police said, so they placed him into custody without further incident.
Sergeant Yaris’ was treated at an area hospital for the injury to his hand and later released. Grove was charged with; burglary (A), reckless conduct (B), criminal mischief (B) and resisting arrest. The owner of the restaurant arrived on scene and estimated the damages to be in excess of $250,000.
Grove will appear in Hillsborough County Superior Court Tuesday. Police did not issue a booking photo of Grove.
