Hempstead Village to vote on assistant police chief appointment

The Hempstead Village board of trustees is to vote Tuesday on whether to appoint Lt. Patrick Cooke as the police department’s acting assistant chief.

The board had voted down 4-1 Cooke’s appointment on June 5 when they unanimously approved the appointments of acting Chief Paul Johnson and acting Deputy Chief Richard Holland. Only Mayor Don Ryan voted in favor of Cooke, who was hired to the force in 1989.

The assistant chief rank falls between the other two. Johnson and Holland were sworn in on June 7.

The three positions are temporary because the Civil Service chief’s test results have not yet been released.

The new appointments follow the May 31 retirements of former Chief Michael McGowan, Assistant Chief Joseph Sortino and Deputy Chief Mark Matthews.