ITHACA, N.Y.—After over a year without a permanent leader, the Ithaca Police Department’s (IPD) newest chief seems poised to be named in the coming weeks.
Sources have confirmed to The Ithaca Voice the three finalists for the job: current Acting Chief John Joly, former IPD Lieutenant Scott Garin, and current Binghamton Police Department Lieutenant Christopher Bracco. The city has declined to confirm the names of finalists, but forums have been announced to meet the candidates (details below). Update, 11:20 a.m.: The city has now confirmed the names of the candidates.
The first two names are familiar. After a long career in IPD, Joly has served as Acting Chief since May 2021, when former IPD Chief Dennis Nayor resigned the position and Joly stepped up from his then-position as Deputy Chief. Garin was similarly a longtime IPD figure, retiring in March after 21 years on the force and having risen to the position of lieutenant. He left for a job at Ithaca College as the school’s operations lieutenant for its campus police force, a position he still holds.
The one outside finalist, Bracco, has been in law enforcement for over two decades according to publicly available information, and now works as an investigator in the Binghamton Police Department. He has worked with the Binghamton police since 1995, with a brief stint as an agent for the Nevada Gaming Control Board from March 2015-January 2016 before returning to Binghamton.
The City of Ithaca, which has yet to publicly announce the names of the candidates, has announced three forums residents can attend to meet the candidates, ask questions and give feedback. The structure of the department could certainly be a popular topic, since IPD’s future look is a relative unknown given the ongoing law enforcement reform and restructuring process.
The forums are scheduled for tonight, Oct. 17, at Greater Ithaca Activities Center at 301 West Court Street and will feature Joly, as well as on Oct. 24 for Bracco and Oct. 25 for Garin. Each will start at 6 p.m.