HINSDALE — Hinsdale Select Board Chair Margaret Gregory said she is "flabbergasted" by the Dalton Police Department's decision to suspend mutual aid responses to the town following the fatal police shooting of Biagio Kauvil in January.

"I am very angry about this," Gregory said at Wednesday night's meeting. "Our officers were in danger. They handled it the way that they had to handle at the time the situation took place, but because it wasn't approved by Dalton the way that it got handled, now they're going to pick and choose who they will and will not provide mutual aid for?"

Dalton announced the suspension in an April 14 letter from Police Chief Deanna Strout to Hinsdale Town Administrator Robert Graves and the Hinsdale Select Board, citing concerns about accountability, trust and officer safety. Strout also referenced "multiple occasions over the past several years" that raised questions about training consistency and supervisory oversight. The letter was first reported by WAMC and later obtained by The Eagle.

Central to Strout's decision was a claim from the Berkshire District Attorney's Office that Hinsdale Chief Shawn Boyne, during his interview with state police investigators, made statements that "attributed responsibility to Dalton officers" — raising what she called "significant concerns regarding interagency accountability and the accuracy of post-incident representation."

"These issues present a risk not only to the public but also to officers responding in a mutual aid capacity," Strout wrote.

The suspension has already had consequences. Gregory said that during a recent incident, a Hinsdale officer waited roughly 30 minutes for backup.

“I am just at my wits' end about why our officers have to wait to have anyone show up for a situation,” she said. “If we call for backup, we can't have a dispatcher in Dalton decide whether or not they want to send a Dalton officer or they’re going to send a statie or they're going to send Becket. It should be whoever's closest and whoever can get there the fastest.”

In response, Hinsdale acting Police Chief Bruce Cullett said the town already has modified its procedures, designating the Becket Police Department and Massachusetts State Police as its primary mutual aid agencies in place of Dalton.

Despite the suspension, Hinsdale officials said their officers will still respond to calls for help from Dalton.

"We're not turning our back because they've decided to," Graves said.

Board members said they are unwilling to accept an arrangement in which Dalton's Fire Department continues receiving full service while police support is cut off.

“I can't have our Police Department who is representing our town being not ... backed up. It's not feasible,” said Select Board member Raymond Huntoon. “It's just not right, regardless of the reasons; my personal opinion is you're in or you're out.”

Looking ahead, town officials outlined a longer-term shift away from Dalton for dispatch services altogether. Hinsdale is exploring a move to the Berkshire Regional Emergency Communications Center, which now operates the regional dispatch center previously run by the Sheriff's Office. Cullett told the board that Hinsdale "will be welcomed there" and that the town is preparing a letter of intent that would allow the center to assess how to integrate Hinsdale's police, fire and potentially highway and sewer alarm communications.

Hinsdale currently has one full-time officer and three part-time officers. Cullett said the two officers placed on leave following the shooting remain out, but could not confirm whether they are being paid.

Select Board members declined a request to answer questions following the meeting on Monday evening.

Dalton will continue providing mutual aid to the county's other 31 communities, with emergency requests from Hinsdale evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The suspension stems from a January wellness check at 53 Off South St. that ended in Kauvil's death. Kauvil, 27, had called 911 while experiencing a mental health crisis.

State police transcripts and the DA's findings show that Hinsdale Police Sgt. Dominick Crupi rushed to the scene from the gym on his day off, arriving unarmed. After attempting to talk Kauvil out of the locked bedroom, Crupi told Boyne he could force the door open and Boyne, the ranking officer, gave the go-ahead.

Boyne later told investigators the breach decision was mutual, claiming Dalton Officer Chelsea Eichstedt said, "We have to go [into the room]." That account conflicts with the DA's findings and Eichstedt's own interview, in which she said she had no part in the decision and only observed Boyne and Crupi communicating through hand signals moments before the breach.

When Crupi broke into the room, he said he felt what he recognized as a firearm in Kauvil's hand. Shots were fired during the struggle, striking Crupi in the hand and Boyne in his bulletproof vest, before Officer Spratt fatally shot Kauvil.

On the same day Strout's letter was dated, District Attorney Timothy Shugrue announced that Spratt, also the town's animal control officer, would not face criminal charges, with investigators concluding he acted in lawful self-defense. However, Shugrue said investigators found considerable concern about whether officers followed the department's use-of-force policies and strongly recommended the town hire an independent investigator to review them.

Gregory said she could understand the mutual aid suspension if the investigation had found the officer's actions unlawful, leading her to believe the decision may be due to a "personal issue on their end."

"There's some things that we need to address, and they're being addressed," she said. "This has nothing to do with our officers and their well-being."

Eichstedt told investigators she had suggested calling a mental health clinician to the scene but received no response from Boyne. She also noted that Boyne had arrived without his firearm and left the scene to retrieve it, returning to find she had already warned him that Kauvil was licensed to carry and might be armed.

"It's not my call, but if it was Dalton, I could promise you we wouldn't have gone through that door," she told investigators.