2 South Shore officers injured when wellness check turns violent. Woman faces charges

MARSHFIELD − A wellness check ended in an arrest and injuries to two Marshfield police officers, one of whom has still not returned to work a week later. A 42-year-old Marshfield woman has been charged with mayhem, assault with intent to murder or maim and assault and battery on a police officer resulting in serious bodily injury.

Marshfield police have had 85 interactions with the woman since 2006 and 30 since this past June, several of which have resulted in criminal charges, according to Marshfield Police Chief Phillip Tavares. In October 2011, the woman lunged at officers with a large kitchen knife, Tavares said.

In the most recent incident, Tavares said that Sgt. Liam Rooney suffered a deep laceration on the top of his head after being struck with the pointed edge of a large ceramic statue.

"We hope to have him back soon," Tavares said. Bandages controlled the bleeding, and Rooney did not require stitches.

A second officer, Dan Shea, was tasered by Rooney as the officers tried to control the woman in a confined space, the police report says. Shea was not seriously hurt and remained on the job.

What led to the wellness check

Three police officers and a mental health clinician responded to a call on Feb.19, for a well-being check requested by a mental health nurse, who said the woman had left a number of incoherent messages on her voicemail over the weekend.

The woman's father also requested a well-being check. He told officers he believed his daughter had stopped taking her medication because his ex-wife told him that the woman had called her only to laugh into the phone, the police report says.

The woman was screaming erratic political statements when officers and the mental health clinician arrived at the woman's residence, the police report says. The clinician determined she posed a danger to herself or others, enabling officers to bring her to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation without consent under a law called Section 12.

Marshfield police have issued the woman several Section 12 orders in the past, most recently on Jan. 8, the report says.

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Mental health clinician instrumental in de-escalating sensitive situations

The woman faces charges in four open cases, three from this year and one from 2023, according to Plymouth County court documents. Charges include resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, assault and battery, carrying a dangerous weapon, violation of a prevention order and three separate counts of assault and battery on a police officer.

"It's not against the law to be mentally ill, obviously, and not all mentally ill people are violent," Tavares said. "But she does have some type of an issue that has not been resolved. Her behavior is extremely violent, including weapons."

Tavares said that while not all people with mental illnesses are responsible for their actions, most are. Asked if he believed this particular woman was responsible for injuring Rooney, he said he has no reason to believe she is not competent to stand trial. "Therefore, I believe she is responsible for her criminal actions," he said.

Marshfield police are responding to more and more mental health calls, especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Tavares said. He credited the presence of mental health clinician Jenna Cohen with helping to keep people safe and able to access "the treatment they not only need but deserve."

Cohen accompanies officers responding to mental health crises. She also follows up with individuals, Tavares said.

Tavares said Cohen's position is funded through a $60,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. She works three days a week out of the Marshfield station, and one day each with Norwell and Duxbury police. Cohen began working with the three towns in May 2023.

"But we could use somebody every shift, every day," Tavares said. "(Cohen) has absolutely been instrumental in de-escalating situations."

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One officer hit by Taser, another suffers 1-inch gash to head

The officers unlocked the door with a key provided by the woman's father, who rents the residence. Three officers walked single-file into a short and narrow hallway leading into the apartment. The report describes the woman as "profusely sweating, clenching her fists," "verbally argumentative" with "exaggerated facial expressions," "a clenched mouth, and tensed muscles."

When the woman picked up a pointed, white ceramic statue about a foot tall, Rooney activated his taser. The woman lifted the statue above her head and approached the officer closest to her, Shea.

Shea kicked the woman back to create distance, but in doing so stumbled backward against the wall, flailing his arms to regain balance, according to the report. At the same time, Rooney discharged his Taser, striking Shea with both probes in the right triceps. Shea fell to the ground.

Rooney discharged a second Taser cartridge, which struck the woman but had "minimal to no effect." The woman is 5-foot-9 and 300 pounds, according to the report.

She continued to approach the officers. When Rooney tried to bring her to the ground, she struck the top of his head with the point of the statue, which broke, the report says.

"Rooney suffered an approximate 1-inch gash on the top of his head, causing severe bleeding," the report notes. The third officer, positioned behind Shea and Rooney, was uninjured.

Eventually, the three officers were able to handcuff the woman, place her on a stretcher in the hallway of the apartment building and transport her to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. During the struggle, Rooney also injured his knee. Both Rooney and Shea were taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, the report says.

According to the report, a medical evaluation at Beth Israel found no physical injuries to the woman, who remained at the hospital under the Section 12 order.

Marshfield chief commends officers' restraint

Tavares said Marshfield police officers have always practiced restraint and emphasized de-escalation when encountering the woman. He said there is little difference between the jagged edge of the broken ceramic statue and a knife or razor blade. "(Officers) refrained from lethal force," he said, "which I believe they would have been justified in using."

In the 2011 incident, Tavares said the woman had cut the power to the residence and emerged out of the darkness wielding a kitchen knife at officers. "They could have shot her, not with a Taser, but with a handgun. (Officers) showed great restraint there too."

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 2 Marshfield police officers injured when wellness check turns violent