In a commentary in the Berkshire Eagle following the exoneration of the Hinsdale police officers in the death of Biago Kauvil, Dennis Powell calls for an independent investigation. He lays out the details of what occurred, and the NAACP Berkshire Branch Calls for Action.
• Independent Policy and Leadership Review within 30 days: The town of Hinsdale must appoint an independent investigator with no prior affiliation to the town or its Police Department to conduct a formal review of training, policies and the specific decision to breach the bedroom door. The DA already has called for this. The town must act.
• Legislative accountability: We call on the Berkshire County legislative delegation to convene a public hearing on crisis response protocols across the county, including the absence of mental health co-responders in this incident and the systemic gaps it reveals.
• Mandatory crisis co-responder protocols: Law enforcement agencies across Berkshire County must be required to deploy trained mental health co-responders whenever responding to a mental health crisis and to document and justify in writing any instance in which such resources are not utilized.
Dr. Powell sums up by saying:
“The law has spoken to the 43 seconds inside that bedroom. It is now the responsibility of this community — its elected officials, its institutions and its residents — to speak to everything that came before. The NAACP Berkshire County Branch will continue to stand with the Kauvil family until that accounting is complete.”
Use the link below to read the full statement
Post-investigation accountability and community work remains in the wake of Biagio Kauvil’s death