When Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi admitted on Monday to drunk driving over the weekend, his driver's license was temporarily suspended and he will be required to attend driver education classes.
Cocchi is an influential politician, but local defense attorneys who spoke to NEPM say he didn't receive a preferential deal from prosecutors.
Donald Frank is the supervising attorney for the Hampden County Bar Advocates. He said the conditions of Cocchi's agreement — known as a continuance without a finding — are similar to what many clients face. If Cocchi stays out of trouble for a year, the charge will be dropped from his record.
"It encourages people to resolve their cases earlier. The second time, if there is another one within ten years, however, it is a real problem," he said.
Cocchi was able to resolve his case on the same day he was arraigned on the OUI charge.
"That's totally typical and in many cases it's not unreasonable," said Lawrence Madden, the attorney in charge at the Springfield office of the Committee For Public Counsel — the state's public defenders' office. He said many clients resolve their cases in one day when they plead guilty.
As far as accountability for sheriffs, that falls to the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission and the voters.
The POST Commission is the agency that certifies police officers. In a statement, the commission said that certain sheriffs, like Cocchi, act beyond an administrative capacity and perform police duties that fall under the agency's purview. Those police duties could include anything from issuing warrants to conducting warrantless searches, conducting arrests and more, they said.
According to the commission, if decertified, an officer can no longer do the job.
"They cannot work for a law enforcement agency, a sheriff, or the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security in the Commonwealth in any capacity," the statement reads. "Decertified officers are placed on the National Decertification (NDI) Index and agencies from other states may typically verify an officer’s status in the NDI before hiring."
According to the good government group Common Cause Massachusetts, the best tool to hold a county sheriff accountable is the ballot box.
Cocchi was reelected to a second six-year term in 2022, meaning he won't face reelection again until 2028.
"If however, an elected sheriff vacates the seat before their term expires, the governor appoints a replacement to fill out the term, or until a special election is scheduled," Common Cause Massachusetts Executive Director Geoff Foster said in a statement.
