Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi has been charged with OUI.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi has been charged with OUI.
Hampden County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Rob Rizzuto confirmed to 22News that Sheriff Cocchi was at MGM Springfield Saturday night when he was arrested for operating under the influence.
Rizzuto says the sheriff was released on his own recognizance following the incident.
In a statement to 22News, Sheriff Cocchi said “I’m sorry for not living up to the high standards I’ve set for myself, my staff, and the justice-involved population. I take complete responsibility for my actions.”
Cocchi was first elected sheriff in 2016 and was re-elected to a second six-year term in 2022. He is himself a former correctional officer with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s department is in charge of corrections in Hampden County, running the Hampden County Jail in Ludlow and the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee. The office also runs treatment and recovery facilities and supports the re-entry of offenders as they transition back into society.
Additional details on the arrest were not immediately available. 22News has reached out to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for more information.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.