42°
Officer Matthew Tidman, age 36, was attacked by an inmate with a metal object in the gymnasium at MCI-Shirley in Shirley on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 31. Tidman is now in a coma where he remains in critical condition, a GoFundMe organized on his behalf says.
"Matt is someone who is the first to lend a helping hand no matter the situation and now is our time to do the same for him and his family," the campaign reads. The GoFundMe is looking to raise $10,000 to support Tidman's family.
"He has 10 years in the prison, walks around every day greeting people with a giant smile on his face," a former corrections officer at the prison and co-worker of Tidman told Daily Voice. "Always the first one there if you needed him."
A spokesperson with the Department of Corrections legally could not provide more information on the inmate involved in the attack. However another former officer at the prison said the inmate, who was transferred from Virginia, is a convicted murderer and has assaulted staff before.
"He was given GYM PRIVILEGES and brutally beat a correction officer in the head and face multiple times with a 3 foot metal rod for the squat machine," a Facebook post from Melissa George reads. "[Tidman] most likely has severe brain damage, he may never be the same Tidman we know, he may not even live!"
The incident has since sparked outrage among the community, with people like George calling out Massachusetts DOC for improper inmate protocols.
"Why are all the gyms in state prisons still open and being used by inmates with free range equipment that can be used as weapons, after you just saw what happened and can happen again," her post continued. "Why aren’t you closing the gyms state wide, removing all Mobil equipment, and replacing it all with stationary machines that can’t be dismantled or used as weapons?"
A search of the inmate's name that was given to Daily Voice in both Virginia and Massachusetts revealed he was serving a single life sentence but did say what he was in prison for.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Springfield and receive free news updates.
