COOPERSTOWN, NY - The village of Cooperstown became one of the first municipalities in Otsego County to approve a police reform plan that was ordered by the Cuomo administration.

The governor ordered the reform following the nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

The village board unanimously approved the 11-page reform plan at their board of trustees meeting Monday evening.

A police reform committee consisting of Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, police Chief Frank Cavalieri, and others devised the plan over the fall.

Mayor Tillapaugh says highlights of the plan include training on the proper use of force, as well as the importance of community policing.

"The reform plan and the use of force policy have been up on our village website for over a month now, entertaining public comment. So at this point, we are ready to send in our reform plan to the office of budget. It has an April 1st deadline so we are a little in advance, but just in case there were any complications, we wanted to make sure we got that in there."

Governor Cuomo has mandated that all municipalities with a police force submit a reform plan by April 1, 2021.