Great Barrington and Berkshire County — Several organizations have all chimed in with their criticisms against the Great Barrington Police Department and the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office over their investigation of a copy of “Gender Queer” at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School.
On December 8, the department received a complaint of “obscene matter” at the middle school. While the police report specifically names “Gender Queer” as the “obscene matter” in question, and specifically names eighth grade ELA teacher Arantzau Zuzene Galdos-Shapiro, the police report does not list who made the complaint.
Plain-clothes Police Officer Joseph O’Brien subsequently investigated the school’s library and questioned Galdos-Shapiro along with school Principal Miles Wheat. During his search, O’brien at first covered his bodycam with part of his hand, then subsequently a piece of clothing.
Bodycam footage courtesy of the Great Barringotn Police Department:
While Officer O’Brien could not find a copy of “Gender Queer” in the school’s library, he told Wheat and Galdos-Shapiro during the investigation that he could “search every classroom at will” for the book if he wanted to.
The police report, completed on December 21, specifies that no crime had been committed. Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy Shugrue subsequently stated that, since the complaint that was filed did not involve criminal activity, both the Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office closed the investigation.
In the days that followed, however, residents expressed their outrage at the incident. The story was picked up by national news outlets, which led to Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti issuing a public apology for the department’s investigation.
Going into the new year, the controversy over the investigation continues to linger on, with several organizations condemning both the police department and the District Attorney’s Office. On December 29, LGBTQIA+ organization Berkshire Pride issued a press release sent to media outlets by organization Competency Educator Emma Lenski. The organization “strongly condemns any suggestion of censorship directed towards educators,” according to the press release. “The statement made by Great Barrington Police Investigator Joseph O’Brien, advising a teacher to review and potentially remove certain materials, is an affront to the principles of free expression and inclusive education,” the organization states in the press release. “Berkshire Pride reiterates its commitment to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in educational settings. The organization firmly believes that educators play a crucial role in fostering understanding and acceptance by providing students with a variety of perspectives and experiences. Over the course of the three weeks since the incident occurred, Berkshire Pride’s Executive Director, Cass Santos-China, and Competency Educator, Emma Lenski, held conversations with the District Attorney’s office as well as members of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District in order to gather more information and help develop a plan.”
As of press time, the details of a “plan” have not been issued by the school district, the District Attorney’s Office, or Berkshire Pride. “Berkshire Pride recognizes the importance of age-appropriate content and supports efforts to ensure that educational materials align with the developmental stage of the students,” the organization states in the press release. “However, the organization firmly opposes any form of censorship that limits access to information and stifles open dialogue. The incident at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School underscores the need for ongoing conversations about LGBTQIA+ issues and the importance of providing educators with the tools and resources to navigate these discussions effectively. Berkshire Pride is committed to working collaboratively with local schools to offer training and support, promoting an inclusive and respectful educational environment.”
Also on December 29, representatives from national groups American Civil Liberties Union and GLAD Legal Advocates and Defenders all co-signed a letter to both District Attorney Shugrue and and Police Chief Storti condemning the police investigation. “While we are gratified to see that Chief Storti has reportedly said in an online post that he ‘apologize[s] to anyone who was negatively affected’ by this unprecedented law enforcement action, we remain concerned that there has been no acknowledgment that what occurred was unwarranted and unauthorized by law. Instead, in public statements and media reports, your offices have asserted that they had an obligation and no choice but to take criminal investigatory steps in response to this complaint,” the ACLU and GLAD representatives wrote in the letter. “In your statements, you seem to be defending the fact that a police officer went to the school, visited a teacher’s classroom, questioned the teacher, looked for the book and possibly even suggested a search of the entire school might be appropriate—as well as the fact that a criminal investigation was opened by the District Attorney’s office when the matter was referred by the police.”
The representatives from both organizations told both Shugrue and Storti that “no criminal investigation was warranted” regarding the original complaint to the police department. “Instead, your offices should have advised the complainant to raise their concerns with the school,” the ACLU and GLAD representatives wrote in the letter. “We ask that you take immediate steps to instruct your staff—and inform the public—that law enforcement responses to concerns about books in schools and other educational programs are not appropriate and should not and will not happen again. Failure to take affirmative and prompt action could mislead law enforcement elsewhere in the Commonwealth into thinking such action is lawful—when it is not—and will leave unredressed the chilling effect of your offices’ actions on the constitutionally protected rights of students in the Commonwealth to receive (and of educators to share) information without unwarranted censorship, to enjoy an educational environment free of discrimination based on gender, and to freely exercise their rights without threats, intimidation or coercion from law enforcement.”
The Berkshire Edge has repeatedly contacted Berkshire Pride and ACLU representatives for interviews concerning the controversy, but representatives from both organizations have yet to respond to these requests.
PEN America, however, did respond to The Berkshire Edge’s interview request. The mission of the over-101-year-old nonprofit organization, which is based out of New York City, is to “protect free expression in the United States and worldwide” and to “champion the freedom to write.”
Kasey Meeham, who directs PEN America’s “Freedom to Read” project, told The Berkshire Edge that similar incidents involving books, police departments, and schools have happened many times before. “This isn’t the first time that we have witnessed such an extreme escalation to engage police or a sheriff’s office in response to a book that’s in a public school,” Meehan said. “This is yet another tactic and a set of strategies being deployed by these extremist groups in trying to remove certain types of books from school and classroom libraries. I think we’re seeing a movement to ban books that [has] led to an increased escalation of how books are being challenged and removed from schools.”
Meehan strongly asserted that “Gender Queer” could not be considered pornographic. “‘Gender Queer’ does not have images of individuals having sex with each other,” Meehan said. “There are pages that people may deem may be more developmentally appropriate for older individuals.”
As for the bodycam worn by Officer O’Brien, Chief Storti has not issued a statement on whether or not O’Brien’s obscuring the bodycam’s lens during the investigation went against department policy.
Back on September 29, Chief Storti issued a press release touting the police department’s use of bodycams. “[The bodycams] will document interactions with the public to identify ways officers can serve the community better … By capturing digital audio-video evidence for criminal, civil, and traffic-related court cases, can assist in a successful prosecution and help victims of crimes,” Chief Storti wrote in the press release. “The police department can also use the data to identify what training is needed for officers to improve the quality of interactions between officers and the members of the public.”
Meanwhile, “Gender Queer” is available from the town’s library system as an eBook from the C/W MARS website, which catalogs the library’s books and resources.
Correction: In the original story, due to an editing error, Meehan was misquoted as saying “Gender Queer” could be pornographic. Meehan said “Gender Queer” could not be considered pornographic.
