Berkshire DA Releases Victim's Name in Fatal Police Shooting
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Biagio Kauvil's family had attempted to secure mental health resources for him before a well-being check on Wednesday that turned deadly.
On Friday, District Attorney Timothy Shugrue identified Kauvil, 27, as the man who was killed by police in a shooting incident at 53 Off South St. on Jan. 7. The New York resident, he said, was expressing "paranoid delusional" thoughts on social media, and in calls to the FBI's National Threat Operation Center and local 911 leading up to the incident.
"This is a horrific scene, and there is a deceased person, and it's a very sad situation. It was a mental health situation," Shugrue said during a press conference at his office around noon, right after he had spoken to Kauvil's family.
The DA elaborated on details provided the prior day, though there are still many questions unanswered, and the investigation remains active. He declined to respond to queries about the officers' decision to breach the bedroom door the man was sequestered behind, details about the approximately 46-second struggle that resulted in Kauvil being shot in the head, or if an officer would be charged for the fatality.
Police say Hinsdale Sgt. Dominick Crupi was shot in the hand by Kauvil, the bullet going through and striking Police Chief Shawn Boyne in his bulletproof vest. Crupi was also shot in the elbow by another officer. He was released from Albany, N.Y., Medical Center on Friday.
Shugrue said his office will not be releasing the names of the officers involved, although he acknowledged that they have been named on social media and elsewhere. He is "not even near" ready to say if an officer will be charged.
"I'm only here today because there's a lot of rumors going around the community. I wanted to straighten that out," he said, clarifying that Kauvil was not wanted by the FBI.
"… I'm sorry I can't give you more information than that, but I really want to be clear about what we know at this stage. But again, this may change once we — I haven't seen the ballistics, I haven't seen the autopsy report. There's a lot of stuff I don't have yet, but I just felt the public deserved to know as quickly as possible what transpired, especially in light of what's happening nationally."
This is the third police shooting in Berkshire County in nearly four years that involved someone in mental distress. Miguel Estrella, 22, was shot and killed on March 25, 2022, at the intersection of Woodbine Avenue and Onota Street in Pittsfield; Phillip Henault, 64, was shot and killed at his Hancock home on Sept. 9, 2023.
Based on the investigation so far, there were no mental health co-responders on site. Shugrue doesn't believe the officers knew Kauvil was armed, and cited the lack of mental health resources in the community.
"I hope one thing that comes out of this is that we can talk more about legislative work that needs to be done. We can talk about resources that need to be given to mandate that we have mental health professionals working with police officers and working with individuals that are on the street that haven't been able to get the services that they need," he said.
"And this is unfortunate. I know, speaking to the family, they tried to get services for him. Unfortunately, there's not a lot available, and there's not a lot available in the Berkshires."
The FBI's threat operation center contacted Dalton dispatch on Tuesday to report that Kauvil was making claims that sparked mental health concerns, as they believed he was residing in that town. Shugrue said this included concerns about a machine in his basement that would drain the life from his body and induce suicidal thoughts.
There were five abandoned 911 calls placed or returned by Kauvil on Wednesday in the 20 minutes before 10 a.m.; one of the calls including a muffled banging consistent with the sound of someone repeatedly hitting the phone receiver.
"These calls further amplified law enforcement and the concern for his safety," the DA said.
Just before 10 a.m., the Hinsdale Police Department responded to the Off South Street home for a well-being check and requested mutual aid from Dalton. About a half hour later, Kauvil placed another 911 call, repeating his claims but stating that he might be OK.
That call lasted for about 16 minutes, and a woman or girl can be heard in the background trying to make contact through the door. Kauvil continued to express paranoid thoughts and appeared to become agitated with family members who were in the house, Shugrue reported, and the 911 call ended when he began to speak with the officers through the door.
Around 10:50 a.m., Dalton Police contacted an ambulance to confirm that they were prepared to transport the man to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Police then determined that they needed to breach the bedroom door, and limited radio traffic was requested to not further agitate Kauvil, the DA said.
"I don't think they thought there was a gun. I think they thought they were gonna have to put him in the ambulance, bring him to the hospital, and get him treated at the hospital," he said.
At 10:58 a.m., there was a radio notification for a taser deployment, and about 15 seconds later, officers advised that shots were fired. Less than one minute later, police requested immediate ambulance response and began rendering aid.
"From preliminary investigations, it has been determined that Mr. Kauvil had a gun in his left hand; he's left-handed. When officers breached the bedroom door, when officers entered the bedroom, one officer was able to wrap his arms around Mr. Kauvil's waist and attempt to restrain him against the wall. However, he maintained the gun," Shugrue said.
"Officers worked to restrain him on the bed. Mr. Kauvil's gun then fires. Shortly after the shot, an officer uses the taser. Mr. Kauvil is tased and briefly subdued. However, when the effects of the taser diminish, he again becomes agitated, stating, 'Kill me. Kill me.' The taser was deployed a second time, Mr. Kauvil is once again briefly subdued, but then resumes to struggle. An officer orders Mr. Kauvil to drop the gun, an officer discharges the firearm, and an officer is hit by a single round in friendly fire. And six seconds later, a second round is discharged, striking the civilian, Mr. Kauvil, in the head."
The DA said his office is working long hours to bring this investigation to a conclusion. The shooting takes place in about 46 seconds, and he said the team is taking hours at a time to go through the body-camera video footage frame by frame.
Kauvil had a license to carry for some time (it is unclear when it was issued) and had no criminal convictions on his record. Shugrue said he heard nothing but great things about the young man in the community.
Shugrue said he does not yet have the ballistics or autopsy report, and he declined to disclose which officer fired the shot. While the involved officers are on leave, the small Hinsdale department is getting support from Peru, Dalton, Cheshire, and the State Police.
The DA reiterated that there aren't enough mental health workers, and spoke of the struggle Kauvil's family had to access care for him.
"I think that one of the messages that comes out of all these cases that we have is that mental health has to be part of the criminal justice system, and mental health has to be a component when we're dealing with these situations that someone is in a mental health crisis situation, is not thinking clearly and obviously, in this particular case, asking to be killed is just very disconcerting," he said.
Write-thru and update at 4:30 p.m.
Tags: district attorney, fatal, shooting,
