Peabody District Court Officer Hurt in Courtroom Melee
September 15, 2009
A Peabody court officer is recovering after being hurt when a defendant reacted violently to the judge ordering him held without bail.
Court Officer Tom Joyce, 30, was on duty in Peabody District Court on Thursday, September 10, when defendant Timothy Burke-Tate came before the judge. Burke-Tate, 21, of Peabody, was the subject of a dangerousness hearing regarding his August arrest on aggravated domestic assault and battery.
When Judge Michael Uhlarik ordered Burke-Tate detained until his trial, or for up to 60 days, the defendant acted up. Shouting that it would take "all the cops present" to take him down, he flipped over a table and a melee ensued.
During the struggle to subdue Burke-Tate, Joyce fell and hit his ribs and head. He was taken to a nearby hospital and released. Joyce has now returned to work. The defendant was taken back into custody.
"I'm grateful that Court Officer Joyce wasn't hurt more seriously, but the whole incident underscores the danger of the job," said David Bernard, director of the NAGE Trial Court division. "Our Trial Court members face these explosive, unpredictable incidents both in court and out in the world every day, and they do it without weapons. The fact that more of them haven't been more gravely wounded is astonishing."