The top cop in North Adams, Massachusetts is retiring in early 2019.
Police Director Michael Cozzaglio – a 32-year veteran of the department – says he’ll step down on February 8th.
“Looking back on it, I probably didn’t make a better appointment than I did with Mike Cozzaglio," said former North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright. Former Mayor John Barrett chose Cozzaglio to serve as Police Director in 2003. In 2012, as then-public safety director John Morocco prepared to retire, Alcombright assigned Cozzaglio a new level of authority over the department. “Mike is just a true dedicated public servant," said Alcombright. "He’s a cop, he’s a good cop, and he’s a good manager.”
Alcombright praised him for overcoming a restrictive budget and low staffing levels, speaking of his ability to keep morale high and directly manage the department. In 2016, North Adams was among the first communities in Massachusetts to fully equip its first responders with Narcan, a drug that can rapidly reverse potentially lethal opioid overdoses.
“Politically, at the time, might not have been tremendously popular," said Alcombright. "But right now, I think we know the benefits, all the positive benefits of nasal Narcan – and Mike took the leadership role on that, working with the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, and, at the time, the North Adams Ambulance Service to make all that happen. We had tremendous leadership in our community to make that happen, and Mike was right on top of it.”
North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard says the city has begun work on finding a new leader for the department of 23 full-time officers.
“The director – chief – has done a very good job with staff development and there are officers who have risen through the ranks who would – if they apply – merit serious consideration, but I plan to do a real search," said Bernard. "I plan to post the position, build as competitive and diverse a pool of applicants as I possibly can, engage a search committee from across the city from a number of stakeholder groups, and really make sure that we’re bringing in the right person for the job.”
Bernard, who was elected in 2017, says Cozzaglio’s work on community policing and managing the department were hallmarks of his time working with the departing director. Bernard mentioned Cozzaglio’s oversight of the police vehicle fleet, the department’s departure from civil service in staffing, and the plans for a new public safety headquarters as some of the successes of his tenure.
“I think the most critical thing is to continue to build the idea of public safety and the police department as a public resource, making sure we don’t pull back from the idea that our officers are out on the street, that they’re visible," said the mayor, "not just when they need to be enforcing the law, but when they’re out in the community.”
During Cozzaglio’s time in office, FBI statistics on North Adams showed a spike in violent crime. But some, like City Council President Keith Bona, attribute the rise to inaccuracies in crime reporting.
“I believe if they look back, you’re going to see those numbers get adjusted in the future from what I’ve been told," he told WAMC. "It hasn’t made sense to me that we’ve been on the top of the list – I feel our city over all is very safe.”
Bona says he is looking forward to seeing what choices the Bernard administration makes for the department’s new leadership.
“It’s a time to try new things,” said the city council president.
