Bethlehem hires new chief of police amid push for reform
BETHLEHEM, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Det. Sgt. Gina Cocchiara officially advanced through the ranks to become Bethlehem’s new chief of police. On Wednesday, Women’s Equality Day, Cocchiara became the first woman to ever serve as chief in Bethlehem.
At the regular meeting of Bethlehem’s Town Board, Chief Cocchiara shared an “ambitious vision for modernizing the Police Department, with an increased focus on community policing and stronger bonds between Bethlehem Police Officers and the residents they protect and serve.”
Bethlehem For Social Justice and Bethlehem United are two racial and social justice groups in the Delmar area that responded with trepidation to Cocchiara’s appointment. They shared concerned that the hiring process for the position—which oversees police finances, by one account estimated at 20% of Bethlehem’s budget—lacked transparency.
They say that—according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s police reform and reinvention collaborative outlined in executive order 203—public engagement is now required when localities enact changes to policing policy and procedures.
“In light of the current national erosion of public trust in police departments, based on a lack of accountability and transparency, the town missed an opportunity to instill trust in the process,” says Xavier Cruz of Bethlehem for Social Justice.
Local advocates and activists asked repeatedly to be involved in an inclusive process where candidates could respond to their concerns. They say the town reached out informally to the community only informally, instead of making a demographically representative group of residents of color.
Melissa Carpinello of Bethlehem United points to the hiring process in Albany, which created a community board to establish criteria. “A community board could have included a diverse panel of residents including BIPOC, who disturbingly represent 38% of those who are issued traffic tickets, but make up only 10% of the town’s population,” Carpinello says. Even so, Bethlehem’s Board Members say they incorporated many residents’ questions and priorities.
Reached for comment on this criticism, Town Supervisor David VanLuven said, “We need to move quickly to form an advisory committee to help us chart and implement a process for not just reforming and reinventing our police department, but also for revealing and understanding bias and injustice in our community so we can make our wonderful town more fair, just, and equitable.”
ValLuven also praised Cocchiara specifically, citing her knowledge of law enforcement, connection to the community, and historic position as one of only eight police departments in the state to have a woman at the top position.