Judge, medical examiner fault D.A. in handling of Bridgewater case
In 2009, a handcuffed and shackled patient at Bridgewater State died after guards doubled him over and pushed down on him on his hospital bed. A state medical examiner called his death a homicide, but Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz did not prosecute any of the Bridgewater staff.
Cruz told The Boston Globethat he based his decision not to charge the officers on medical examiner Mindy J. Hull’s findings.
“In her opinion it was the conduct of Joshua Messier in fighting and maintaining the struggle against the guards that caused his extremely agitated state and ultimately his death,’’ Cruz said in a statement he sent to the Globe in 2013.
But during an inquest earlier this year, Hull told a judge she was “a little bit angry’’ that Cruz misconstrued her ruling, implying the patient caused his own death, according toThe Boston Globe.
Hull’s testimony included in a report released on Tuesday by Judge Mark S. Coven.
In the report, Coven rejected Cruz’s claim that there were no grounds for pursuing criminal charges because of Hull’s inability to identify a specific cause of death.
“Any objectively reasonable person would recognize’’ that the actions of the guards while placing Messier in restraints would probably result in “substantial harm,’’ Coven wrote.
In a statement released Tuesday, Cruz stood by his decision.
Read the full Globe article here.
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