Overview
- Police arrested patient Joseph Michael Macdonald, 45, on Monday after he allegedly attacked another patient with a sharp object in the Nichols Building.
- It is the fourth violent episode on the Tewksbury State Hospital campus since April 7, according to Tewksbury police.
- The early-April policy at the state-run hospital bars security from carrying pepper gel, batons and handcuffs, and instructs staff to de-escalate and call police if violence erupts.
- Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus urged the state to scrap the rules and said last year saw 478 reported assaults on campus, with most handled by hospital staff before the change.
- State health officials said safety is the top priority and talks with local leaders and unions are underway, and a local selectman said the governor has tasked Public Safety Secretary Gina Kwon to engage on the issue.