Three employees of Massachusetts-based Bridgewater State Hospital have been fired in connection to the patient death of Joshua Messier.
The Department of Corrections fired two correction officers and one supervisor on Thursday following an investigation which revealed these employees' actions violated DOC policy.
Messier, a 23-year-old diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, died at the hospital in May of 2009. His family was granted $3 million to settle a civil lawsuit that alleges a group of guards at Bridgewater were responsible for his death as they tried to restrain him, an incident captured on video.
The firings come after Lisa Brown, Messier's mother, began a petition for Attorney General Martha Coakley to appoint a special prosecutor to indict those responsible. None of these individuals have been charged, but the investigation became more active as a result.
In addition, Messier's death caused Governor Deval Patrick to set aside $1 million for training programs to help law enforcement officials learn how to de-escalate and properly handle people with mental health issues.
