Xiarhos Works Towards K9 EMS Treatment, Police Reform

HYANNIS – A month after being sworn into office, 5th Barnstable State Representative Steven Xiarhos says he has hit the ground running in his new position. 

Xiarhos said that dealing with the ongoing pandemic has dominated his plans as he has navigated Beacon Hill.

“A lot of what we push for and try to set up, it used to be testing sites, but thank god the vaccine has been created,” said Xiarhos.

“As representatives and senators from the Cape delegation, we work together and try to get as many vaccination sites set up here on the Cape and as many vaccines as we can.”

As the scarcity of the vaccine on Cape Cod continues, Xiarhos said that he and other members of legislation are working on ways to bring more doses to Cape as well as ways to bring residents to mass vaccination sites. 

Xiarhos also said that he has been able to positively leverage his experience in law enforcement when it comes to bills such as “Nero’s Bill,” introduced by former Barnstable 2nd District State Representative Will Crocker in 2019, and future efforts to deal with police accountability. 

The bill, recently refiled by Xiarhos, would allow police dogs injured in the line of duty to be treated and transported by emergency personnel.

It was originally filed in response to the line of duty death of Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon and injuring of his K9 partner Nero in April 2018.

“The K9 Nero Bill is basically to correct a flaw in the current system,” said Xiarhos.

Other bills that Xiarhos said that he is focusing on in the future include police accountability, such as providing police with better training that could leverage Joint Base Cape Cod as a training location.

Xiarhos said that he also intends to institute mental health professionals at police stations that would be on-hand to help resolve conflicts in the community and provide important resources. 

About Grady Culhane

Grady Culhane is a Cape Cod native from Eastham. He studied media communications at Cape Cod Community College and joined the CapeCod.com News Center in 2019.



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