Berkshire County has experienced multiple tragedies during mental‑health and substance‑use crises because the right responders weren’t available. We are calling for a Crisis‑Counselor Division within the police department staffed by clinicians, addiction specialists, and mental‑health professionals to ensure safe, compassionate, and effective responses that save lives, reduce costs, and connect people to treatment instead of jail.

Berkshire County is facing a growing crisis not only of mental health and substance use, but of how we respond when people reach their most vulnerable moments.

When someone is experiencing a mental‑health emergency, a substance‑use crisis, or both, they deserve trained professionals who understand trauma, addiction, withdrawal, psychosis, and the complex realities of behavioral health. They deserve responders who know how to de‑escalate, not escalate.

Too often, our county has seen the same tragic pattern:
a person in crisis calls for help, an armed response arrives, the situation escalates, and a life is lost.

These outcomes are not inevitable. They are preventable.

We, the undersigned residents of Berkshire County, call for the creation of a Crisis‑Counselor Division within the police department  a team of licensed clinicians, addiction specialists, and mental‑health professionals who respond to behavioral‑health emergencies with the tools that actually save lives:

• clinical assessment
• trauma‑informed de‑escalation
• harm‑reduction strategies
• substance‑use expertise
• time, patience, and compassion

This is not anti‑police.
This is about safety, dignity, and appropriate care.

Police officers are not trained addiction counselors.
They are not clinicians.
They should not be the default responders to medical and psychological crises.

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Documented Losses in Berkshire County

Berkshire County has already lost community members during mental‑health crises because the right responders weren’t available.

•On September 1, 2017, 36‑year‑old Daniel “Danny” Gillis was shot and killed by Pittsfield Police during a mental health crisis. Officers responded to a domestic call, and witnesses reported that Danny was distraught and holding a knife to himself. When he came out of the house in crisis and moved toward officers, he was shot multiple times and later died at Berkshire Medical Center. His death shows how a trained crisis team or embedded clinician could have helped de‑escalate the situation and possibly saved his life. 

In 2022, 22‑year‑old Miguel Estrella was shot and killed by Pittsfield Police after two 911 calls were made for help during a mental‑health crisis. The Berkshire District Attorney stated that “many systems failed Miguel,” acknowledging he did not receive the mental‑health services he needed.
• In 2026, 27‑year‑old Biagio Kauvil was killed during a police response in Hinsdale while experiencing severe paranoid delusions. The Berkshire DA confirmed that Kauvil’s death was the third police shooting in four years involving a person in mental distress.

These tragedies are not isolated incidents  they reflect a systemic failure in how our county responds to behavioral‑health emergencies.

How a Crisis‑Counselor Division Would Make Berkshire County Safer and Stronger

1. Fewer preventable deaths

Clinically trained responders reduce the risk of escalation, especially for people experiencing psychosis, overdose, withdrawal, or suicidal crisis.

2. Safer for police officers

Officers will no longer be placed in situations they are not trained for, reducing stress, burnout, and risk of injury.

3. More people connected to treatment instead of jail

A treatment‑first response gives people a real chance to recover.
Jail does not treat addiction or mental illness  treatment does.

4. Lower costs for taxpayers

A crisis‑counselor division saves money by reducing:

• arrests
• jail bookings
• ambulance transports
• ER visits
• repeat 911 calls
• long‑term system involvement

Prevention is far less costly than incarceration, hospitalization, or litigation after a tragedy.

5. Stronger trust between residents and first responders

When people know they can call for help without fear, they reach out sooner  preventing tragedies before they happen.

6. A more compassionate, trauma‑informed county

Sometimes the difference between a life spiraling deeper into crisis and a life turning toward recovery is simply compassion.
When responders show up with patience, understanding, and clinical skill instead of force, people feel safe enough to accept help.
Compassion isn’t weakness it’s intervention.

What Other Counties Have Achieved

Counties that use crisis‑response teams have seen major improvements, including:

• up to 95% of mental‑health calls handled without police
• fewer injuries to both residents and officers
• reduced ER transports
• fewer arrests for substance‑use‑related crises
• lower long‑term costs for taxpayers

Berkshire County deserves the same level of safety and care.

Our Call to Action

We urge our local officials to take immediate action to:

1. Establish a crisis‑counselor division embedded within the police department.
2. Ensure clinicians respond to mental‑health and substance‑use calls, either alongside officers or independently when appropriate.
3. Implement evidence‑based de‑escalation and harm‑reduction practices that prioritize safety for both residents and officers.
4. Create transparent oversight and accountability to ensure these responses follow best practices.
5. Partner with local treatment providers, recovery centers, and behavioral‑health agencies to ensure people in crisis are connected to care  not criminalized.

No one should lose their life because they reached out for help.
No family should fear calling 911 for a loved one in crisis.
No community should accept preventable tragedy as “just the way things are.”

It’s time for Berkshire County to build a response system rooted in compassion, clinical expertise, and real safety.

Listening saves lives. Treatment saves lives.
Let’s build a system that reflects that.