LUCAS WILLARD: WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes joins us know from Pittsfield. Hello Josh.
JOSH LANDES: Hello Lucas.
Let’s reset the stage here. Can you take us back to the event at the heart of this investigation?
It’s been almost three months since police shot and killed Biagio Kauvil in a home Hinsdale during a mental health crisis. The crux of the controversy around the killing comes down to two issues. The first is why there were no mental health co-responders on scene. That was despite a long runup to the final, lethal confrontation and the fact that Kauvil had communicated to law enforcement that he was in crisis days in advance. The other question is why officers from the Hinsdale and Dalton police departments chose to breach a locked door into the room Kauvil had sequestered himself in despite him posing no apparent risk to others. Everyone other than Kauvil and the police had long been out of the house he was in when officers breached the door. The 27-year-old, who had specifically expressed paranoia about law enforcement when he reached out for help, was legally carrying a firearm at the time.
Here’s how Berkshire DA Timothy Shugrue described the events that unfolded over the seconds on the morning of January 7:
“At approximately 10:50 am, Dalton police contacted an ambulance to confirm they were prepared to transport Mr. Kauvil to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Officers also requested that there be limited radio traffic as to not further agitate Mr. Kauvil. During this time, a determination was made by law enforcement at the bedroom door needed to be breached. At 10:58 am and 15 seconds, there's a radio transmission that notifies of a Taser deployment. At 10:58 am and 31 seconds, officers advised that shots have been fired. At 10:59 am and 21 seconds, officers request immediate ambulance response.”
Shurgrue, who was speaking at a press conference two days after the shooting, said after the shots were fired law enforcement began immediately rendering aid to both the officers who were shot – at least one by friendly fire - and Kauvil.
The officers hurt in the incident have since recovered from their injuries. Kauvil was shot in the head and died that afternoon. At his press conference, Shugrue, a Democrat, could not answer why there was not a mental health professional present on the scene or whether breaching the locked door was considered appropriate police protocol.
“It’s a question I want to know. So, we're going to find that out. You know, we haven't- We're not full on the investigations, not everybody's been interviewed. But I have that same question.”
In a March 2 press release about a separate Berkshire County incident in which a police officer fired a weapon during a Jan. 27 encounter with a man allegedly carrying a knife in Adams, Shugrue said the Hinsdale investigation was a priority and laid out a timeline of 14 to 21 days for the last reports on the matter to be received.
What are Kauvil’s loved ones saying about the investigation lagging?
I can’t stress enough that Biagio’s family and intimates are utterly shattered by his killing. In over eight years of reporting for WAMC, Lucas, interviewing those who knew and loved him best has been some of the most devasting work of my career.
His mother Jen has been stuck in a nightmare since Jan. 7, and when I spoke with her, she had yet to see the body cam footage of the incident. She was tortured by the fact that Biagio had called out for help and received a death sentence, as well as the fact that no mental health crisis co-responders came to the scene:
“I have been playing this in my head, patiently, for weeks, till I see the video. And he says, Mom, I have every right to have my gun, I have my license to carry, I don't want to hurt anybody- I just want to negotiate, or I just want to talk. My God, the guy called on himself. I mean, what more do we need to say about the whole incident? And where was crisis?”
Biagio’s best friend, Quinton Garvey-O’Brien says the investigation is about accountability from Berkshire County law enforcement, saying so far there has been nothing but silence:
“The police killed a man who wasn't looking to hurt himself or anyone else, and we just want answers. And they just seem to really be dragging their feet and kind of hoping that it'll fall by the wayside, and we're just not going to let that happen.”
Supporters of Kauvil have set up Facebook groups, held standouts, and organized mass emailing campaigns to the Berkshire DA’s office calling for justice in his name.
Has the Berkshire DA’s office given any explanation for why it missed its own deadline?
The spokesperson I’ve been in touch with has put the blame on the Massachusetts State Police, and says the DA’s office is still waiting on ballistics reports. At this point, it’s unclear when DA Shugrue will bring his investigation into the killing to a close.
WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes. Josh, thanks for joining us.
You’re welcome, Lucas.
