State representative to file bill to return non-lethal equipment to Tewksbury State Hospital security

There have been four violent attacks in three weeks at Tewksbury Hospital and a state representative is taking the fight to Beacon Hill to give security the non-lethal equipment back. 

Representative David Robertson (D) is planning to file a bill to amend the budget after the Department of Public Health removed pepper spray, handcuffs, and rubber batons from the security staff at Tewksbury State Hospital weeks ago. The department said the equipment was not conducive to a therapeutic environment.

The hospital has seen a large amount of violence in recent weeks, with the latest incident happening Monday night. A patient allegedly assaulted another patient with scissors. Then last week, a visitor allegedly pushed a chair into a pregnant staff member, and in a separate case, a woman threw a trash can into a window. Staff said that waiting for the police to arrive to help puts them at risk. Tewksbury Police Chief Ryan Columbus called the decision "negligent."

The I-Team has been reporting on increasing violence at the hospital since 2021. Tewksbury police and fire say they respond to more than 600 calls a year at the hospital. In 2025, the state implemented changes, outfitting security with non-lethal equipment after a review of safety concerns and an internal investigation.   

Wendy Buote is a registered nurse at the hospital. She said, 'staff are getting punched in the face they are getting hurt they're getting knocked out. But if I'm being attacked, public safety cannot even put hands on. It's not even the pepper spray; they cannot intervene. Every day that I walk in there I'm afraid for my patients, my staff."  

Roberton said that he is "not surprised that there was another incident. This was all extremely predictable."

The string of violence was the topic of discussion at the Tewksbury town selectboard meeting, where frustrated local leaders, staff, and residents are placing the blame for the escalating violence on Governor Healey and her administration.

Jomarie Buckley sits on the board of trustees for Tewksbury State Hospital and she explained that the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health, and the Governor's Office are the people who made this situation. 

She told the selectboard that dozens of hospitals allow their security staff to carry pepper gel, including Boston Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess. Buckley security staff at the state hospital should also have the equipment.  

Robertson tells the I-Team the situation could easily be resolved if the governor simply tells the DPH commissioner to reverse the decision.

Meantime, Robertson says he has filed legislation to have the state build a new building or new wing designed to contain and reduce the incidents, remove the campus security police from the Department of Public Health and move them to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. He has also amended the budget to include a provision that would create a law and immediately restore the equipment to security officers.

The iTeam reached out to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services for comment who said that "The safety of patients, staff and the Tewksbury community is our top priority." 

"We have been in ongoing discussions with town and public safety officials, Tewksbury State Hospital leaders, and unions regarding security policies, including making sure that staff have an appropriate range of tools available to keep themselves and others safe. We have made important progress over the past few days and believe we are on a productive path to address concerns and ensure the safety of all," an EOHHS spokesperson said.