Schenectady County Sheriff High Ranking Sergeant Arrested For Aggravated Drunk Driving

As police departments everywhere are under a lot of scrutinies in the public eye, the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department is standing out, and not in a good way.

According to CBS6, Around 10 p.m. on Monday night, 26-year old Sergeant Daniel Coppola, of the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department, was allegedly seen swerving and driving recklessly on Central Avenue in Colonie.

Lt. James Gerace of the Colonie Police Department says that one of his officers stopped Coppola after the officer observed him make an unsafe lane change. The officer arrested Coppola and charged him with one count of Driving While Intoxicated, and one count of Aggravated Driving While intoxicated. He was also issued a traffic ticket for making an unsafe lane change.

Sheriff Dominic Dagostino was probably very proud to have his stepson, Daniel Coppola, join him as an officer with the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department. That pride turned into disappointment on Monday night.

Sheriff Dagostino shared his disappointment publicly. He said, “I am terribly disappointed and heartbroken over the actions of my son. During my tenure as a sheriff, it has been my obligation and responsibility to the people of this community to maintain the integrity, credibility, and legitimacy of this office. Any action short of terminating this employee would undermine those principles and do a great disservice to the office that I hold in such high regard.”

An administrative review hearing was held and Coppola and was subsequently fired after working with the Sheriff’s Department for almost 3 years.

This is not the first time that Daniel Coppola was arrested and fired from a law enforcement agency. In 2018 he was arrested and fired from the Schenectady Police Department for the same reason, driving while intoxicated while off duty.

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It’s hard to believe that someone can get fired from one law enforcement agency and then get hired by another one so quickly. In this case, Coppola did not even have to leave Schenectady County. People are literally in the streets screaming defund the police and a high-ranking officer decides to risk it all and drive drunk, not once but twice. This is an example of how police officers should be closely scrutinized before they are hired to protect and serve others.

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