Lambertville Police Director Bruce Cocuzza to retire

Lambertville Police Director Bruce Cocuzza will retire on Dec. 1, city officials announced Thursday.

Cocuzza headed the Lambertville Police Department for more than 19 years.

“He professionalized the department, overseeing its move from the basement of City Hall to a state-of-the-art headquarters, putting in place effective cost controls, and ensuring that all police officers receive continuous training in current best practices,” city officials noted in a press release. “Cocuzza instilled accountability and provided strong overall direction to the City police force.”

A former New York City Police captain, Cocuzza is credited with implementing in-car and body-worn cameras, and overseeing the work of the N.J. Police Training Commission for the past 12 years as a commissioner.

“Bruce Cocuzza is widely recognized as one of the best local law enforcement officials in all of New Jersey,” said Lambertville Mayor Dave Del Vecchio. “We are grateful for the dedication, commitment to public safety, and skill he brought to his job every day. He made our City safer and better through his leadership of our police force.”

“Working with the police officers and the rest of the department staff to keep our residents safe has been highly rewarding,” said Cocuzza. “I thank Mayor Del Vecchio and the people of Lambertville for giving me the opportunity to serve.”

Lieutenant Robert Brown will be designated the “Officer in Charge” of the police department, and will serve as its interim leader, Del Vecchio said.