A Suffolk judge has released a former Boston police detective indicted for drunkenly backing a city-owned truck into an occupied Tesla in East Boston at a time when he was earning over $300,000 from the city.

Suffolk Superior Judge James Budreau has released Greg Walsh, 51, of South Boston, on personal recognizance after a grand jury indicted the former police detective for operating the city-owned vehicle and carrying a firearm while intoxicated, among other charges.

Budreau has also denied Walsh’s request to dismiss the case, stemming from a chaotic incident in the Jeffries Point section of East Boston in October 2024. The judge ordered the former detective to stay away from and have no contact with witnesses.

According to city payroll records, Walsh earned $326,930.03 in total pay last year, as his $131,135.60 regular salary soared to that final amount with $105,157.47 in overtime pay and the rest in other pay.

Walsh retired from the Boston Police Department on Nov. 6, 2025, with charges pending, department spokesman Sgt. Det. John Boyle told the Herald after the former detective was arraigned Thursday morning.

The alleged drunken episode unfolded in the early morning of Oct. 22, 2024, several hours after Walsh completed a shift for BPD as a detective. At about 2:30 a.m., Walsh allegedly backed a city-owned “oversize pickup truck outfitted to look like a utility vehicle for undercover work” into an occupied Tesla on Sumner Street.

The Tesla sustained damage to its hood, as Walsh allegedly drove away and around the block onto Marginal Street. The Tesla driver then blocked that intersection, with the two vehicles soon facing each other, according to the prosecution’s statement of the case.

Occupants in the Tesla noticed Walsh allegedly covered the front and rear license plates with paper towels and a piece of clothing. The car’s driver called 911, while a passenger recorded several minutes of the encounter on his phone.

“The video showed a standoff in which Walsh drove back and forth and waved for the civilians to move out of the way,” the prosecution said in its case statement. “The Tesla driver instead urged Walsh to park so they could talk and exchange papers.”

“Walsh briefly exited the truck and, when told that he had smashed into the car, said, ‘I know that, it’s obvious,’” the prosecution added. “He returned to the truck and at one point called the Tesla occupants ‘assholes.’”

Walsh then ran away from the truck on Sumner Street, after a Boston police officer responded to a second 911 call, in a marked cruiser.

“The Tesla passenger pointed out Walsh’s direction of flight to the officer, who caught up to Walsh in time to see him vault a gate into an alley,” the case statement reads. “As he did so, the gate swung open, and Walsh fell face down in the alley.”

Body camera footage allegedly shows Walsh standing up with “difficulty.” The arresting officer then handcuffed him and removed his duty weapon — a loaded Glock handgun — from a holster on his hip.

“Walsh confirmed that he was a BPD officer and was licensed to carry the firearm,” the prosecution has stated. “He answered safety questions cooperatively, but slurred his words and was unsteady on his feet.

“Walsh said that he left the crash scene because the Tesla occupants were ‘very aggressive … I thought they were gonna beat me up,’” the prosecution added, “even though he was an armed detective in a large vehicle and the civilians made no threats or belligerent movements toward him.”

A BPD sergeant then arrived on scene, noticing a slight odor of alcohol coming from Walsh, who was allegedly slurring his words. The sergeant ultimately decided not to attempt field sobriety tests or arrest the detective at the scene.

Later that day, the sergeant cited Walsh for operating under the influence and leaving the scene, and applied for a criminal complaint in the East Boston division of Boston Municipal Court.

An East Boston clerk magistrate declined to issue a complaint at a hearing on Nov. 6, 2024, stating, “I feel that the matter should be investigated by Internal Affairs.” At that point, Walsh, through an attorney, paid the Tesla owner $12,000 for the crash damage.