Hinsdale Police Rebuild Includes Chief Search, Body Cameras
HINSDALE, Mass. — As the town works to rebuild its Police Department a lot of questions are still ruminating in residents' minds.
What dispatch center should the town utilize? What is the process of finding a new police chief following Shawn Boyne's retirement? Where did the money go for body cameras? What is going on with the commissioned police department organizational analysis?
The department has been in upheaval since the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Biagio Kauvil last January.
During a meeting last month, the Select Board accepted Boyne's letter of intention to retire; he had been out since the incident. A second officer involved, Jeffrey Spratt, chose not to return to his position and is in the process of applying for disability.
Only Sgt. Dominick Crupi, who was injured in the incident, has returned to duty. The department currently has five active officers and Peru Police Chief Bruce Cullett, who is doing double duty on contract.
"We've got to build a department again, but we'll survive," board member Raymond Huntoon told iBerkshires. Huntoon was acting chair at last month's meeting.
The town cannot hire a replacement or establish a search committee until the Berkshire County Retirement Board sets an effective date for Boyne's retirement. Until that date is set, the town remains financially obligated to his position, Huntoon told iBerkshires.com following the Aug. 13 meeting.
Traditionally, the town has conducted the search process for a police chief in house by asking taxpayers and residents to serve on a search committee, he said.
"We're not rushing at anything because we still have a lot of things that are not decided and can't be decided until we know for sure," Huntoon said.
Huntoon said he has discussed with Town Administrator Robert Graves the possibility of bringing members of the previous search committee back and asking them additional questions, particularly those who expressed criticism about the "high finances for a chief" but then changed their minds.
"I want to learn from what they said, what they saw that made them change their minds, and then we will see if we use them again or know what else to look at in the future," he said.
"We're still learning ourselves. We can go through it over and over and different things, and it all changes like the weather."
He would also like to speak with prior committee members to understand what motivated them to get involved, particularly those who had not previously volunteered. The board members valued having new participation because they believed it brought new perspectives to the search process.
According to NEWS10, Kauvil's family has submitted a formal complaint for review of Crupi's certification with the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission.
The outlet reported that the complaint claims he has Crupi misused his official status, and presented verbally abusive temperament in his conduct in other instances besides the incident in January.
When asked by NEWS10 to comment on the complaint, Huntoon said he wasn't aware of the complaint however the department is at the "mercy" of the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission.
"We are at their mercy to say whether or not capability is there or not. Which obviously, if they said that he could return to duty but, you know, I just found out yesterday that he came back to work, so it was news to me," Huntoon said.
Daigle Law Group is conducting a review of the department's operations and recently wrapped up its data collection. It's expected to give the Select Board recommendations sometime in the coming months.
Since the fatal shooting in January, community members have called for greater accountability and changes within the department, including the implementation of body-worn cameras.
In 2023, then Police Chief Susan Rathbun applied for a grant for body cameras, which was awarded to the department in the amount of $52,636 through the FY24 Body Worn Camera Grant Program.
After Rathbun left, officials learned the award was a reimbursement grant requiring the town to pay upfront. Although the cameras had already been purchased, the town did not have sufficient funds allocated in its budget to cover the expense, Huntoon said.
The cameras, which had been sitting in storage, were located by Boyne and subsequently returned because of the lack of funding, he said.
"We were fortunate enough that Chief Boyne contacted the company and was able to return them. The other thing that was found out that they wouldn't have been any good because they were obsolete at the time," Huntoon said.
"They didn't meet the up-to-date standards. So, we got lucky. We didn't have to pay for cameras that we could not have used."
Huntoon said current staff are looking into obtaining grant funding to purchase body cameras for the department.
iBerkshires has filed an Open Meeting complaint because the board declined to provide Boyne's resignation letter, citing personal information in it. A redacted version is expected to be released at the next board meeting.
NOTE: This story was edited on Sept. 8 at 11:30 a.m. to correct information about the January shooting.
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