Pittsfield, Massachusetts Mayor Linda Tyer announced Thursday that Captain Thomas Dawley will become interim police chief after Michael Wynn retires in July. Wynn first took charge in 2007 and was named permanent chief in 2017. Dawley, who has been with the Pittsfield PD since 2002, will lead the department while Pittsfield searches for a new permanent chief. Tyer, who is not seeking a third four-year term, says she will work with the winner of the mayoral race to lay the groundwork for the search at the end of the year. Dawley spoke with WAMC’s about what he wants to bring to the Pittsfield PD as interim chief, his experience in law enforcement, and his interest in the permanent role.
DAWLEY: I started over 20 years ago. I actually started before that. I was a part-time Hinsdale police officer back in ‘97 to 2000. From there, I actually was a correctional officer for the Berkshire County House of Corrections, and I was also a court officer for the Berkshire County trial courts. I started my tenure as a police officer back in 2002. Since then, my career has developed in a, I would say, in a positive way. I was assigned to the FBI Gang Task Force. I’m not sure what the date was on that, it was probably around 2006, maybe 2007. From there, around 2011, I became a detective for the detective bureau. I stayed there until about 2016. And from there, I was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant, then finally now captain and chief.
WAMC: Now when I spoke with Mayor Linda Tyer about why she chose you, she alluded to your academic background. Tell us about that- I know you've studied criminal justice. Walk us through your experience on the academic level.
Absolutely. I went to PHS, Pittsfield High School, I graduated with a diploma there. I then went to college in Springfield, Western New England College. At the time, it was not a university. That was back in, I would say, ‘91 to ‘95. I studied criminal justice there, got my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. When I got onto the force, I took advantage of the Quinn Bill and I actually got my master's degree in criminal justice from Boston University.
What would you describe as your big takeaway from that experience? How did that academic experience translate to your work on the ground, so to speak, here in Pittsfield?
I tell you, education and training is everything, Josh. To have that knowledge and background in not only certain types of administrative things, but the social part of things, the history of policing, where we were and where we are now, they really get you ready. And I encourage everyone to, if they have a passion for a certain field is to take courses, learn about it, embrace it, and really, really get the most out of education as you can.
Now, recently, the story of policing in America has become a much more complicated one, with conversations about racial equity and oversight, things of that nature. I'm interested- Over the last few years of this conversation taking place in a very public way, what's your reaction to that? And how does it play into your broader experience and training around policing?
Absolutely. When I started policing, it was a far different time. The evolution of policing within the last couple of years has- I'm not saying it’s taken a bad turn, but it has definitely taken a turn where we have to be more transparent. We have to be more understanding, more empathetic to people, to listen to people, to hear what they have to say. And we have to we have to develop with the cultural changes in definitely this community. But across the nation, policing has had many pitfalls. Unfortunately, there's some officers out there that don't shine us in a very bright light. And for the hundreds upon thousands of very, very well trained, awesome, law enforcement people, men and women, you know, which, we try to pick ourselves up from that and try to press on.
What do you see as your top priorities taking on this interim role? What's it going to require of you as you step into this position?
I'm definitely going to walk before I run, that's for sure. I'm going to take advantage of these next couple of months to really listen to Chief Wynn and learn, have him mentor me. I want to really step back and take a look at the agency as a whole. The men and women of the Pittsfield police department are the most important to me right now. I want to make sure that every need and every want that they request is met in terms of training, what they want to see in the rank and file with our department. I just want them to know that I'm here for them if they need anything, and building that relationship with my officers will certainly spill over to the public, and that transparency, that empathy, that understanding, to deal with day in and day out situations, I think it's going to be definitely coming from the top down. So, we're going to look at, you know, we really want to focus on getting our policies and procedures in order. The body worn camera program, we want to get that up and running. There's like a lot of little things that we can accomplish here, but it's going to just, it's going to really take some time, Josh.
We're speaking just weeks after the one-year anniversary of Miguel Estrella’s death at the hands of the Pittsfield Police Department. He was shot to death during a mental health crisis back in March 2022. It was an event that led to a lot of raw emotions being expressed by the community, by family and friends of Mr. Estrella calling for more police oversight and reform. You're stepping into this interim position at a time where his death is still very much an open wound for members of Pittsfield’s community. Do you have a message for the community about that situation?
That was a very unfortunate situation, absolutely for the Estrella family, and my heart goes out to them and the family and friends that knew Miggy. All I can say is, you know, we're going to move forward, as a department, as a community. If there's obviously anything that I can do to help his family, I certainly would do it. We don't want to forget about the officers who are also involved in this unfortunate incident, that they're hurting as well. So, it's both the community, within the department. We are definitely working on things to move forward with types of situations like that. We have co-responders, we have the body worn cameras now. We're looking into more critical incident training with our officers. So, whatever we can do, you know, we'd like to hear from the community. What do you want to see from us? How can we do better?
At this time, how long are you preparing for this role to last? It's obviously interim, somewhat of a dodgy term. Are you looking at this in the months or the years? How long do you think you'll be in the role?
Well, it's hard to say, Josh, to be honest with you. Right now, like I said, it's just an interim chief's position until they decide to have what's called the civil service test. As you know, the police department’s under civil service, so we have to follow those guidelines for under civil service. Once that's determined, and once the test is administered, a list becomes available to the mayor, and the hiring and process will take place at that point. That could be a year, that can be less than a year. I certainly can't speak on the mayor’s behalf, but she definitely wants to push forward with a civil service test for the chief's position.
Do you have any interest in the permanent role?
Right now, I can't give you a comment on that, Josh, because I am not in your current role yet. Once I get in the current role, you know, it may be something that I enjoy. It's going to be challenging for sure. We’re just going to have to see how it works out. You know, I have a ton of support in the community and within my department as a whole so we can see how it goes.
