The Bristol sheriff’s workplace bailed out “law enforcement partners” who have been scrambling to search out somebody to supervise a suicidal man accused of killing his mom and setting her on fireplace exterior their Cape Cod house.
That’s what Sheriff Thomas Hodgson advised the Herald Tuesday after authorities mentioned the state’s psychological establishment rejected Adam Howe, 34, of Truro. State Police then dropped Howe off on the Ash Street Jail in New Bedford.
Howe “suffered a medical emergency in his cell” Sunday and was pronounced lifeless at a close-by hospital. He died after stuffing bathroom paper down his throat, the Herald was advised.
“We put him in a ‘johnny’ and put him on a security watch,” Hodgson mentioned. “The hospital cleared him … and so they had nowhere else to take him so we stepped up. We all the time do.
“It was the right thing to do for public safety,” the sheriff added. “We have partnerships with law enforcement and we want to minimize their exposure. … It’s sad to lose anybody, but we share resources to minimize the risk to taxpayers.”
Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe mentioned in an announcement Monday Bridgewater State Hospital, the place the criminally insane are housed, refused to take Howe.
The DOC spokesman mentioned in an announcement Tuesday: “There are protocols for emergency psychiatric hospitalizations determined by law, and the Department of Correction follows these procedures for commitments at all facilities, including Bridgewater State Hospital.”
Hodgson, a Republican who’s in a reelection battle towards Attleboro Mayor Paul Heroux, mentioned he simply provided to assist: “I will always step up — because it’s my job.”
Heroux, a Democrat, mentioned he would even have taken in Howe however would have put him on a 24-hour watch, not 15-minute sweeps. “Hodgson needs to focus on reducing suicides and not being a tough guy,” Heroux added.
Hodgson mentioned they put Howe in a “johnny” — a garment that shreds if an inmate makes an attempt suicide — and positioned him in a single cell. The sheriff added his jails are inspected “more than meat packing plants” and he’s been given excessive marks.
This inmate, nonetheless, was deemed suicidal by the Cape & Islands DA. He was discovered lifeless in his New Bedford cell at roughly 5:14 p.m. Sunday.
He was accused of killing his mom, 69-year-old Susan Howe, and setting her physique on fireplace on the entrance garden of the household house Friday night time.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”