Thomas M. Hodgson

Thomas M. Hodgson is an American law enforcement agent who has served as Sheriff of Bristol County Massachusetts since 1997.

Thomas M. Hodgson
Hodgson in 2019
Sheriff of Bristol County
Assumed office
June 2, 1997
Appointed byWilliam Weld
Preceded byDavid R. Nelson[1]
Personal details
Bornabout 1954
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican Party (United States)
Spouse(s)Terry
Jo-Anne (c. 1999-present)
ResidenceDartmouth, Massachusetts
Alma materXavier University
OccupationSheriff of Bristol County, Massachusetts
Websitehttp://www.bcso-ma.us/meetthesheriff.htm

Early life

Hodgson was born about 1954 and grew up in a large Catholic family in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He graduated from a Catholic military high school in Washington and attended Xavier University in Ohio for one year studying accounting.[2][3][4] Hodgson worked as a police detective in Ocean City, Maryland for six years, resigning in the early-1980's to work in his brother's landscaping business. He moved to Massachusetts in the 1985 and worked in an office supply company in Quincy, Massachusetts. He left to work in another brother's accounting firm.[5]

City Council

Hodgson was elected to the New Bedford City Council in 1988. He served until resigning to become Sheriff in 1997; at the time of his resignation, he was the council's only Republican.

Sheriff

Hodgson was appointed Sheriff of Bristol County by then-Governor William F. Weld on May 21st, 1997.[6] He won his first election for a full six-year term in 1998 and moved to Fall River the next year. He garnered press for charging inmates for room and board, medical services and hair cuts while in jail and for getting rid of television and the weight room. He instituted chain gangs.[2] In the most recent election of 2016 he ran unopposed.[7]

2017 discussion on illegal immigration and sanctuary cities

Hodgson first made waves by offering to send Bristol County inmates to help build President Donald J. Trump's proposed border wall.[8] He was later invited to speak to the House of Representatives on issues relating to sanctuary cities, stating that elected officials in such jurisdictions should be placed under arrest.[9][10]

2020 violent incident at the Bristol County House of Correction

On May 1, 2020, three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees were hospitalized amidst a violent incident with correctional officers during testing for COVID-19.[11] Hodgson was on site during the incident and the Bristol County Sheriff's departments reported more than $25,000 of damage to the facility.[12]

The next day, Congressman Joe Kennedy III called on an independent investigation of the violence.[13] Following Kennedy's statement, Sentators Warren and Markey and Representatives Keating and Kennedy signed a joint letter calling for an investigation, stating: "We are alarmed by reports of the events of Friday, May 1, in Unit B of the Bristol County House of Correction’s C. Carlos Carreiro Immigration Detention Center. There are conflicting accounts about what occurred, and we believe that there must be a full, independent investigation by an external entity."[14]

The ACLU of Massachusetts is suing the Bristol county Sheriff's Office after they received a denial of accessing records related to the May 1 incident.[15]

Trump Re-Election Campaign

In November 2019, President Trump appointed Hodgson as Honorary Chair of Trump's 2020 Massachusetts re-election campaign.[16] The announcement was made by MassGOP National Committeeman Ron Kaufman[17] at a state committee meeting.


See also

References
  1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/441971676/
  2. Hart, Jordana (June 27, 1999). "Bristol Sheriff sees lessons in tough approach". The Boston Globe. p. B1.
  3. Preer, Robert (June 27, 2004). "Bristol Sheriff candidates differ in style, outlook". The Boston Globe. p. Globe South page 1.
  4. Doherty, John (March 25, 2001). "Legally, nothing amiss in Maryland". South Coast Today. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  5. "Sheriff Hodgson to quit City Council seat". SouthCoast Today. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  6. "Hodgson, Thomas M." Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  7. "Thomas M. Hodgson". Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. "Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson offers inmates to build Donald Trump's wall". Boston Herald. January 5, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  9. "Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson says elected leaders of 'sanctuary cities' should be arrested". Masslive. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  10. "Hodgson to speak before U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday on illegal immigration, sanctuary cities". SouthCoast Today. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  11. "ICE Detainees Hospitalized, Sheriff Reports 'Extensive Damage' After Coronavirus-Based Incident in Bristol County Jail". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  12. "$25K in damage after COVID-19 disturbance at Mass. ICE facility, sheriff says". WCVB. 2020-05-02. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  13. "Calls For An Investigation Mount After ICE Detention Center Incident". CBS Boston. 2020-05-02. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  14. "Warren, Markey, Keating, and Kennedy Call for an Independent Investigation of the May 1st Events at the Bristol County House of Correction | U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts". www.warren.senate.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  15. "ACLU Sues Bristol Sheriff For Access To Incident Recordings". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  16. Service, Matt Murphy Massachusetts State House News. "Trump Campaign taps Mass. Sheriff Tom Hodgson as honorary chair". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  17. "State Committee". Massachusetts GOP. Retrieved 2020-01-23.


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