Moulton Statement on the Investigation into the Disappearance and Death of Veteran Tim White

December 4, 2020

WASHINGTON — Today, following the release of the Middlesex County District Attorney’s investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance and death of veteran Tim White, Representative Seth Moulton made the following statement:

“Tim White deserved better from the country he served than a lonely death in an empty stairwell.

While the DA’s investigation has ended, it has opened several leads for Congressional oversight.

This is a fact: the Bedford VA Police Department failed to locate a missing veteran in the care of Caritas on the VA’s campus, steps from his bed, for five weeks. That’s unacceptable and emblematic of the lack of accountability at the Bedford VA Police Department, which lost my trust long ago.

A year ago, after Congressional pressure, the VA Secretary announced national reforms to the VA Police Department. I wanted to give those reforms time to work. Clearly, they have failed.

I have begun identifying legislative and Congressional oversight action to reform the VA Police Department independently from the VA Secretary. This investigation has made clear that local police forces should be given lead investigatory authority when lives are on the line. The federal government should fund local police investigations on VA campuses. I urge the Inspector General to conclude the federal investigation as soon as possible and to propose additional legislative reforms in the IG report to Congress concerning leased facilities.

We know about the VA Police Department’s failures of accountability in large part because of journalists. I want to single out The Boston Globe’s reporters and editors for telling Mr. White’s story and keeping the spotlight on the VA Police’s misconduct.”

Moulton has repeatedly pressured the Department of Veterans Affairs to reform the VA Police Department and hold its leaders accountable.

In February 2019, Moulton met with local leaders for an update on the Bedford VA Police following an incident where a VA Police Officer drove drunk and brandished his gun at a local car dealership.

In June of 2019, in part due to a request from Moulton following that February’s incident, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on the VA Police Department and multiple Inspectors General reports which found systemic leadership failures in the VA Police. Moulton was granted a temporary seat on committee so he could participate in the hearing. He testified about the problems at the Bedford VA and questioned the VA Police’s leadership on their lack of accountability.

In early October 2019, Moulton met privately with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and raised his concerns about the VA Police force.

On October 31, 2019, acknowledging Congressional pressure, the Secretary of the VA issued a plan to reform the VA Police Department.

After the discovery of Mr. White’s body, Moulton joined with Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Representatives Kathleen Clark and Lori Trahan in calling for an Inspector General’s investigation into why the VA Police failed to locate Mr. White.

Last month, Moulton demanded an update on the VA’s investigation in an additional Congressional inquiry to the VA. The inquiry has not yet been formally answered.

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