The Monroe County Sheriff Department’s Office of Professional Standards is investigating accusations made against members of the Brockport Police Department. The nature of the accusations has not been made public at this time, and will not be, unless criminal charges are filed against one of the department’s officers, according to Brockport Village Attorney Roy Heise.

When the accusations against Brockport Police Department members were made, the village had to make a decision on how to investigate the alleged acts. Brockport is too small a force to have its own internal affairs office, Heise said, therefore Mayor Mary Ann Thorpe and the village board asked Monroe County to handle the investigation. "No one here is stalling this process," Heise said. "We’re asking please come in and get to the bottom of this."

Police Chief Gary Zimmer has taken a paid administrative leave of absence during the investigation which is expected to last about two weeks. "The recommendation was for the chief to take a leave, which he very willingly agreed to do," Heise said. "It will make the investigators’ job easier not to have to work around the chief – you can’t interview individual members of the force with their boss sitting right there. It also avoids the appearance of the chief trying to influence the direction of the investigation."

The village’s goal, Heise said, is to get the facts and then go from there. "Some people want to presume the worst," he said adding that ," we all trust there will be no criminal charges (against Zimmer)." Heise criticized media coverage that made it appear that the investigation was looking at Zimmer specifically and exclusively instead of at members of the department.

"This is a man who has given 33 years of loyal service to this community," Heise said. "The chief is cooperating entirely and helping the department the best he can. Unfortunately, some are throwing stones before the facts are established."

Mayor Mary Ann Thorpe is the acting police chief during Zimmer’s leave. She said she has received numerous calls from residents pleased that village officials took the action they did, requesting an outside agency to investigate the complaints. "It was a hard decision to make," she said, "but I believe it was the right decision to make."

Officer Mark Cyr is running the department in Zimmer’s absence. He said the department is "operating at top efficiency and will continue to provide the best possible service." Cyr said he can tell the department has "pulled closer" during the crises and he also had kind words for his boss. "Gary’s got a heart the size of Brockport. We’ll be glad when he’s back."