Suffolk County Sheriff Steven W. Tompkins, who’s been accused of using his official position to extort the executive of a Boston cannabis company, has agreed to “step away” from his position as his case makes its way through the courts, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and state Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell said Wednesday.
Tompkins, who pleaded not guilty to the federal charges last week, will be replaced by Special Sheriff Mark Lawhorne, a move that’s consistent with state law, Healey and Campbell said in a joint statement.
“The allegations against Sheriff Tompkins are serious,” Healey said. “The Suffolk County Sheriff is responsible for managing more than a thousand employees, hundreds of inmates and programs that are essential to public safety and rehabilitation.
“It is a full-time job that demands full-time attention. The people of Massachusetts need to be able to trust in the integrity of the criminal justice system and that their elected officials are fully engaged in the work of serving the public,” Healey said.
Campbell offered a similar sentiment, saying it was “the right step for the Sheriff’s Office and the public as a whole, as it avoids prolonged proceedings before the Supreme Judicial Court.”
Healey had been under increasing public pressure to make a public statement about Tompkins, 68, who was arrested and charged in Florida earlier this month.
Tompkins’ status also became an issue in the 2026 campaign for governor, with both Republican hopefuls, Mike Kennealy and Brian Shortsleeve, criticizing Healey for not taking speedy action. The Arlington Democrat is seeking a second term in the corner office.
- Read More: As GOP piles on, Gov. Healey says she needs to ‘know more’ about arrested Suffolk Co. sheriff
Earlier this month, Tompkins voluntarily stepped away from his leadership position at Roxbury Community College. But there was no indication at the time that he intended to give up his official post.
The case against Tompkins involved his interactions with a cannabis company, only identified in court documents as Company A, that was trying to open a dispensary in Boston in 2019. Tompkins partnered with the company that year to hire graduates of the sheriff department’s re-entry program at the cannabis company.
Tompkins was appointed Suffolk County sheriff in 2013, elected as sheriff in a special election the following year and then was elected to successive six-year terms. He oversees around 1,000 correctional officers and other employees who maintain correctional facilities in Boston at the House of Correction and the Nashua Street Jail.
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