Since Miguel Estrella was shot and killed by Pittsfield Police on March 25th, the community has been engaged in the conversation on how this incident happened, and what needs to change to avoid this type of incident from happening again.

My conversation with Chief Michael Wynn is intended to be productive in this ongoing dialogue and in finding and supporting changes that would lead to a more effective framework in responding to a crisis, such as was the case with Mr. Estrella.

To be clear, there are details in the PPD’s recently released preliminary investigation that are disputed by Mr. Estrella’s family, and there is an investigation by the district attorney that is ongoing.

With that said, this conversation with Chief Wynn includes: changes in training, equipment and protocol since the Daniel Gillis shooting in 2017, taser policies and training, state regulations and lack thereof as it relates to use of high level force, “civil commitment” parameters, the impact that the availability of time and space (area) has on use of force scenarios, the role of the district attorney’s investigation in this case as it relates to any possible criminal responsibility by the officer(s), how other communities and states approach use of force investigations, 911 driven response system and police involvement to declare safety at a scene, co-mingling of clinicians and police officers on crisis calls, staffing challenges and lack of trained clinicians to do community response crisis work, and more.

Again, I hope this conversation is helpful, as I know we all share a common goal to respond to people in crisis more effectively and safely.