Former NYC cop gets 5 years in school invasion

A former New York City police officer has been sentenced to five years in state prison Tuesday for holding a schools superintendent at gunpoint.
The Rockland County District Attorney's Office said 37-year-old Peter Cocker, of Tappan, was also barred from contacting the superintendent for 10 years.
Under a plea deal arranged by Cocker's defense attorney Gerard Damiani last November, the former cop pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping.
Last June, he stormed past a guard into a middle school in Blauvelt and threatened to shoot South Orangetown Superintendent Ken Mitchell. Mitchell disarmed him during a struggle.
Police said later the gun was not loaded.
On Tuesday, Cocker apologized to the superintendent, the staff of the school and his family for what he had done.
Prosecutors said Cocker had a sick child and was upset over the schools' swine flu policy.
The defense claimed Cocker suffered from post-traumatic stress and an undiagnosed bi-polar disorder.
Associated Press reports contributed to this article.
For interview with lawyer of Tappan dad sentenced for hostage taking, go to your digital cable box and select iO Extra on Ch. 612.