​Detective Nicholas Cocchi Receives Fairfield Police Department Employee of the Year Award

Fairfield (NJ) The Fairfield Police Department presentedits 2025 Detective James Ciampi Employee of the Year Award to Detective Nicholas Cocchi. The honor was publicly announced at the Fairfield Police Foundation’s annual gala held on October 16, 2025, at Il Tulipano in Cedar Grove.

Detective Cocchi is a seven year veteran of the police force. He started his law enforcement career as a special police officer with the Parsippany Police Department in May of 2017. He then joined the Fairfield Police Department as a special police officer in November of that same year. He was appointed as a full time Fairfield officer on March 26, 2018. He is currently assigned as a detective in the Investigative Section and has been there since June 2021.

Detective Cocchi is currently assigned to the department’s Honor Guard, Community Services Unit, Public Information Unit, Police Foundation Unit, Recruitment Unit, the Critical Incident Response Team, Crash Reconstruction Unit, Accreditation Unit, and the Information/Technology Unit. He is a L.E.A.D instructor in the elementary schools, serves as the department’s custodian of evidence and is the P.B.A. representative.

This year, his hard work as a detective resulted in the following:

• He identified and charged an employee for stealing over $82,000 from a local business

• He charged two individuals with mail theft

• He identified and charged two individuals for burglary to a local business

• He identified and charged a suspect with credit card fraud

• He identified and charged a suspect with a high value theft from a local business

• He Identified and charged a suspect with theft from a resident

• Through a lengthy investigation, he identified and charged two individuals responsible for a burglary ofa residence and theft of a motor vehicle in Fairfield

• He identified and charged an individual responsible for fraud and money laundering  

• Just recently, he quickly identified an individual responsible for sending an electronic bomb threat to a local school

Last year, the department’s employee of the year awardwas renamed as the Detective James Ciampi Employee of the Year Award to honor both Jimmy’s memory and by recognizing an employee of the department who also embodies the qualities held by Detective Ciampi. Those being a hard worker that strive to be the best they can be,who is dedicated to the law enforcement profession, loyalto the ideals of the Fairfield Police Department, committed to the community, fearless, and who is willing to go above and beyond to help others.

At the award ceremony, Fairfield Chief Anthony G. Mannastated that he felt Detective Ciampi would absolutelyconcur with the selection of Detective Cocchi. The chief then recalled his relationship with Detective Cocchi’s departed father, Frank, who he stated, “was a decoratedand legendary detective with the East Orange Police Department.” The chief continued by stating, “Nick is following in his father’s footsteps. With very little fanfare, he has set himself on a course that will produce another legendary Cocchi who has the great ability to solve crimes and who is an integral part of his department and the community.” He told Detective Cocchi that “both his father and Jimmy were looking down, and they were both very proud of him.”

Among those presenting Detective Cocchi with his awardwere Fairfield Mayor William Galese, Fairfield Police Foundation President Fred Castrovinci and representing the Ciampi Family was Jimmy’s sister Madelyn.

Authorized by: Chief Anthony Manna