Man accused in Memorial Drive shooting held without bail

At Thursday's dangerousness hearing in Cambridge District Court, there wasn't much of an argument about whether to release Tyler Brown, the man charged in this month's shooting rampage on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Judge David Frank accepted nine exhibits of evidence from prosecutors, including Brown's previous criminal record, his probation records and an almost two-minute video taken by a witness during the May 11 shooting. Many of those exhibits are impounded and not publicly available.

Prosecutors pointed to Brown's most recent criminal conviction in 2020 for a shootout with Boston police and said he should remain in custody.

" He was on parole and probation for a nearly identical set of circumstances," Middlesex County prosecutor Nicole Allain told the judge. "The Commonwealth is asking the court to hold the defendant without bail."

The judge found prosecutors demonstrated dangerousness, and Brown should be held without bail for up to 120 days, because he poses a risk to the community. State law requires a hearing to establish dangerousness for a defendant to be held without bail.

"Ultimately what I have to decide is whether the government can establish by clear and convincing evidence that there are no conditions of release that will reasonably assure the safety of the alleged victims in this matter in the community," Frank said. "I do find the government has met its burden with respect to that issue, so I am going to order that Mr. Brown be detained."

Brown did not speak during the hearing, but appeared alert from a hospital bed where he is recovering after being shot by police and a former Marine during the rampage. His attorneys did not object to the judge's decision, but said there are still "miles to go" in the case, and they're conducting their own investigation.

"While we fully anticipate setting forth at trial a robust and complete defense, we are at this time not contesting the motion," said Brown's public defender, Carolyn McGowan.

Although there wasn't much debate during the hearing,  the case has raised questions about who or what might have helped prevent the shooting rampage that seriously injured two people when Brown allegedly shot dozens of rounds from an assault rifle onto the busy thoroughfare. Both victims have now been released from the hospital.

Brown, 46, has a long criminal history and was still being supervised by a parole officer after being released from prison a year ago.

The March 2025 parole hearing decision to release Brown from prison and place him on parole said he was "remorseful" about the 2020 shootout with Boston police that resulted in a five- to six-year prison sentence. Parole board members noted that Brown had participated in violence prevention programs in prison and in the Tufts University Bachelor's Degree Program.

Those who reviewed his prison record said during his five years of incarceration, Brown had two minor disciplinary infractions. His conditions of release included that he take prescribed medications for depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, and that he continue mental health counseling. Regular drug testing was also required. Brown was living at a halfway house designed to help offenders with reentry after prison.

Many are questioning Brown's supervision, the terms of his release and his mental health treatment. State police records indicate that Brown had called his parole officer to say he'd relapsed and that he had been released from McLean Hospital just three days before the shootings.

Even long-time critics of the parole board say that in this case, Brown did apparently confide in his parole officer about his struggles with drug use and his mental health.

"Prison is a punishment, not a dumping ground for people with psychiatric disabilities," said attorney Ruth Greenberg, a practitioner who specializes in parole cases. "The medical community failed him following his release. And thus failed all of us."

She added: "The parole board did the right thing."

A spokesperson for McLean Hospital would not comment on whether Brown received care there.

"McLean and Mass General Brigham are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of every individual we serve," the hospital said in an emailed statement. " Consistent with our policies and applicable privacy laws, we do not disclose whether any individual has received care or services at the hospital.”

Brown's rampage has reverberated through the state's criminal justice and mental health care systems. Some question the judge who rejected prosecutors' requests for a harsher sentence based on Brown's lengthy criminal record. Brown did not meet the criteria for a mandatory lengthy sentence, because one of his drug charges was dismissed; that was due to the drug lab scandal more than a decade ago in which state chemists were found guilty of not properly testing drug evidence in criminal cases. As a result of the scandal, thousands of criminal cases were dismissed.

The judge admitted in the 2021 sentencing said she was "taking a chance" by giving Brown just five years.

Forensic experts say it's difficult to assess the risk of criminal offenders, but typically law enforcement and correctional officials use a tool known as the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, which reviews an offender's history and mathematically predicts the likelihood of them reoffending. In Brown's case, his education and prison programming likely contributed in his favor, according to forensic psychologist Danielle Rieger, who is not affiliated with Brown's case. Rieger said there is no tool that can completely predict who might commit another crime.

"Rates of violent re-offense are actually quite low," Rieger said.  "There are tens of thousands of people on parole throughout the country at any given point, and we do hear occasionally of high-profile failures, which are absolutely sad.  And we can use them as learning opportunities."

The body camera footage from the May 11 shooting has not been released because of the ongoing investigation. But state police say the video will show that responding trooper Landon Veney helped prevent an even greater tragedy that day by stopping Brown and then attending to shooting victims.

"In one instant, the same trooper and his team not only were involved in a very dangerous life or death firefight but then immediately thereafter saved lives by providing medical intervention," Massachusetts State Police Superintendent Colonel Geoffrey Noble said. "In due time, those details will come out, but I'm very confident in saying that that trooper saved multiple lives that day."

Brown's next hearing is scheduled for June 22.