Less than three months after he suffered life-threatening injuries after being attacked by an inmate at a Massachusetts medium-security facility, corrections officer Mathew Tidman exited his rehab facility to a crowd of cheering supporters.
Corrections officers, state troopers and other law enforcement officers were there to applaud Tidman as his car pulled out of the Spalding Rehab parking lot, heading home after a long recovery period.
Our members provided an escort home for DOC Officer Matthew Tidman after being released from the hospital, recovering from a vicious attack while working at MCI-Shirley in September.
— State Police Association of Massachusetts (@MSPTroopers) October 29, 2022
We are glad to give Officer Tidman a proper release and welcome home.#TidmanStrong 💪🏽🇺🇸💙 pic.twitter.com/nkTaDoCqPA
On August 31, Correctional Officer Tidman, who worked at MCI-Shirley, was supervising inmates in the recreation area of the prison, when his accused assailant, Roy L. Booth, Jr., 40, struck him from behind with a metal pole. Union officials say he fell to the floor where he was repeatedly hit again.
Investigators said that Tidman’s fellow corrections officers restrained Booth after the attack and provided Tidman with aid in the aftermath of the attack. Booth was immediately transferred to protective custody at MCI-Souza Baranowski, a facility adjacent to Shirley.
The Middlesex DA’s office obtained video footage of the incident and conducted interviews at the facility. The investigation revealed that Booth had allegedly unscrewed the object used to strike Tidman, which had been part of a weight-lifting machine, and concealed it as he approached Tidman and attacked.
Booth has been charged with armed assault with intent to murder, assault, and battery causing serious bodily injury, and mayhem. Booth is currently serving a life sentence for murder out of Virginia. He was transferred to Massachusetts in March 2021 to serve his sentence as part of the Interstate Corrections Compact, in which inmates are transferred between states.
A GoFundMe fundraiser for Matthew Tidman has collected over $120,054 in donations.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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