Timothy Walsh was a decorated Marine veteran and longtime state trooper who served multiple tours in Afghanistan and was due for another honorable discharge from the Army next year.
But instead of sporting any signs of his admirable military service, the 41-year-old Walsh wore a blue dress shirt and had a black eye as he was arraigned in Dorchester District Court yesterday.
“This is a complete aberration,” said his attorney, Lisa Medeiros. “This is humiliating for him.”
Walsh is accused of drunken driving and pointing a gun at an off-duty Boston police officer early Saturday morning near his Dorchester home. Reports say he then fired his gun into his apartment ceiling and struggled with police trying to arrest him.
In a show of support, state police and a half-dozen military members in fatigues were present at the arraignment.
Barry Brodsky, the director of Veterans Upward Bound at UMass Boston, said his program refers a lot of people who have recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan to counseling.
“It’s fair to say that most people who come back, to the best of their abilities, adjust, but you get sometimes people feeling overwhelmed by whatever’s going on in their lives and that’s when post-traumatic stress disorder comes in,” he said.
Walsh was released and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and turn in his weapons.
