Cocker

NEW CITY – The man who held the superintendent in the South Orangetown Central School District hostage on June 9, 2009, Tuesday pled guilty in Rockland County Court to one count of kidnapping in the second degree.

As a result, Peter Cocker, 37, of Tappan will be sentenced to five years in state prison and five years of probation when he is sentenced next January. He could have faced up to 25 years in prison.

Cocker, who was upset over the district’s H1N1 policy, held Superintendent Dr. Kenneth Mitchell of Orange County at gunpoint.

A struggle ensued during which Mitchell wrestled the weapon away from Cocker.

Orangetown Police shot the door’s hinges and seized Cocker, who had been pinned to the floor by Mitchell. There were no injuries.

Cocker was apparently distraught over a form letter Mitchell sent to parents on June 8. The letter said student absenteeism was rising, but the district was following Rockland County Health Department advice not to close schools.

By entering the guilty plea to kidnapping in the second degree, District Attorney Thomas Zugibe agreed to drop five other counts in the indictment including criminal use of a firearm in the first degree, burglary in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

Cocker was a New York City cop from 1993 to 2004, when he retired.