On the Job with Becket’s Finest

By Amy Alpert

The small entrance in the rear of Town Hall leads to the offices of the Becket Police Department. Today, I met with Kristopher McDonough, Chief of Police, and Michael Hunt, K-9 Officer, to get a sense of what it is like to serve on the police force in a rural town like Becket.

The department consists of five full-time officers and one part-time officer. Previously, there were several part-time officers, but the state has since discontinued adding part-time positions, favoring the standardized training approach offered to full-time officers. Kris and Mike completed the full-time, 800-hour, police academy. The other officers completed the Bridge Academy 200-hour training. This academy was designed to provide officers who did not previously attend a full-time police academy with the necessary training to meet the new certification standards set by the Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, an independent state agency tasked with implementing a mandatory certification process for all Massachusetts police officers.

Kristopher McDonough has served as Becket’s police chief since 2012 when he took over from Bill Elovirta. He joined the department as an officer in 2008. As Chief he splits his time between the towns of Becket and Otis, with both towns sharing the cost of his salary and benefits—a collaborative arrangement that helps save taxpayer dollars. As Becket is larger geographically, Chief McDonough indicated that it is twice as busy for the police force compared to Otis.

Under the Berkshire County Mutual Aid Agreement, the town of Becket’s K-9 Unit has responded to eleven other Berkshire County towns. K-9 Officer Michael Hunt and K-9 Rex have participated in search-and-rescue missions, particularly for missing children and older adults. While Rex is currently in training for drug detection, his main job remains human search and rescue. Having a K-9 unit is a rare asset for a small town like Becket.

This canine initiative comes at a minimal cost to the town of Becket thanks to a Stanton Foundation Grant that was awarded to the town and approved by the Select Board in 2018. The grant, totaling approximately $36,000, paid for Officer Hunt’s certification as a canine officer and the equipment needed for our first K-9, Kain. Sadly, Kain passed away last fall. After the passing of K-9 Kain, K-9 Rex was generously donated to the department.

Unfortunately, our interview was cut short because Mike and Kris got a call to an accident on Route 20—just another day on duty at the Becket Police Department.