Editor's Note: This story was updated at 8:20 a.m. to clarify Officer David Tarjick’s official employment record at his former post in Cheshire.

HINSDALE — More than a week after a Hinsdale police officer fatally shot a 27-year-old man, the town is moving to formalize an interim agreement to cover for the chief, who remains on leave after his vest was struck by a bullet in the shooting.

Meanwhile, officials still have not revealed which officer fired the fatal shot, as the investigation into use of deadly force by police continues with no timeline for completion.

Peru Police Chief Bruce Cullett is currently handling administrative duties for Hinsdale, while Officer David Tarjick has been appointed interim sergeant, temporarily assuming the rank of the department's on-leave sergeant.

The Select Board on Wednesday night postponed a formal vote to appoint Cullett as interim chief until municipal officials finalize the details of a chief-sharing agreement, said Town Administrator Robert Graves.

The leadership shuffle follows a fatal police shooting last week during a well-being check at a home on Off South Street. The man who was killed, Biagio Kauvil, was experiencing a mental health crisis and had called 911, according to Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue.

After about 30 minutes of verbal communication with Kauvil through a door, the DA's office said police decided to break into the locked bedroom where Kauvil was. Shugrue said police, once in the bedroom, saw that Kauvil, who had his license to carry, was holding a handgun.

Kauvil's gun went off during a struggle with officers, according to Shugrue, striking the hand of Hinsdale Sgt. Dominick Crupi and Hinsdale Police Chief Shawn Boyne's bulletproof vest.

Police temporarily "subdued" Kauvil with a Taser, the DA's office said, before an unidentified third Hinsdale officer fired two shots, the first which wounded Crupi and the second which struck Kauvil in the head, fatally wounding him.

Crupi is on medical leave, according to Graves, and his job is being temporarily filled by Tarjick. Boyne is on administrative leave.

Shugrue has so far declined to identify the officer who shot Kauvil. Graves has declined to say which other police official is on leave aside from Crupi and Boyne. The Eagle has filed records requests for the duty status of officers on the Hinsdale force and department policies for well-being checks and related issues.

Shugrue spokesperson Julia Sabourin said Thursday the shooting remains under investigation by the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and state police.

Dalton Police Chief Deanna Strout said the two of her department’s officers who responded to Off South Street last week were there as mutual aid and did not have command of the scene, which remained under Hinsdale’s control. She confirmed that Dalton officers did not fire their weapons and are not under investigation.

A mental health specialist was not called in to assist at the scene, according to Shugrue.

The Pittsfield Police Department has four in-house mental health co-responders that accompany officers on calls. Strout said her officers typically request help from Pittsfield co-responders — thanks to the mutual aid agreement that exists among Berkshires first responder agencies — who respond to calls with officer in their town when available.

The Pittsfield co-responders will travel to other communities upon request if they have availability, said Pittsfield Police Lt. Cheryl Callahan. The Brien Center also has crisis clinicians available to assist police at the request of an officer, said Lindsay Morin Ciepiela, division director of acute services at the Brien Center.

Although the Select Board’s agenda called for appointing Cullett as interim police chief Wednesday, after an executive session, board members pushed the vote to their next meeting on Jan. 28 so a formal agreement between the towns can be reached.

Tarjick’s appointment is temporary and does not constitute a permanent promotion, Graves said, as the town’s regular sergeant position is being held open for Crupi. Tarjick was appointed a full-time Hinsdale police officer in October.

Tarjick previously served as a sergeant in Cheshire, where he was dismissed in 2024 following a dispute over his conduct as a school resource officer.

Town officials there said at the time that while he had been cleared of wrongdoing in a use-of-force incident with a student, he later returned to the school before being reinstated and approached the student, a move the Select Board described as a “lack of professional judgment.”

Tarjick has disputed the town’s account and has sought back pay, arguing through his attorney that he was not properly terminated.

In August 2025, the Board of Selectmen signed a letter stating that Tarjick was laid off due to the elimination of the school resource officer position itself, not because of any misconduct.

Chief Boyne, a Lee native, was a longtime Connecticut State Police trooper, then served eight years as police chief in New Milford, Conn. The city's mayor, Pete Bass, decided not to renew his contract in 2018, a move that prompted litigation. He briefly worked as a part-time officer in Egremont, and was one of four candidates for Adams police chief in 2020.

He served as a part-time officer in Peru and Hinsdale before being picked by the Hinsdale Select Board to lead the department in June 2024, taking over after former Chief Susan Rathbun retired.