Joe DiFazio
The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Mass.
BOSTON — A nurse who helped stop an inmate who was attacking a corrections officer at the Norfolk County jail was honored at the State House this week.
Maureen Fitzpatrick of Westwood was presented with a Medal of Honor on Tuesday, at an annual awards ceremony for correctional workers. The medal is the highest award given to correctional workers who go above the call of duty in dangerous situations.
Fitzpatrick helped save the life of a corrections officer who was attacked in the medical unit of the jail on Sept. 29 last year, according to the sheriff’s office. Fitzpatrick pulled the “erratic” inmate off the officer while other corrections officers rushed to respond.
“Without concern for her own safety, Nurse Fitzpatrick rushed to the aid of an officer who was under attack,” Norfolk County Sheriff Jerome McDermott said in a statement. “She is a credit to the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office and to the nursing profession.”
She was presented with the award by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and state Secretary of Public Safety & Security Thomas Turco. Fitzpatrick has worked at the sheriff’s office for five years.
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