The Truth About Hudson Valley Sheriff’s Office’s ‘Carefully Worded Post’

After some confusion, a Sheriff's Office in the Hudson Valley has clarified a recent social media post.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office congratulated Samantha Cohn, who they described as "the first female to be assigned to the Detective Bureau in the history of the Sheriff’s Office". Soon, they added another post to clear up questions from the community.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office Makes History

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, which was founded more than two centuries ago in 1809, hit a major milestone with their announcement. Despite their "careful" wording, some residents pushed back at the announcement.

First Female Detective Assigned to SCSO Detective's Bureau

While the majority of comments on the original post congratulated the newly-minted Detective Cohn, others pushed back at the message that they interpreted as dishonoring a former member of the department.

Debra Hall Honored by Sullivan County Sheriff's Office

"Did we forget about Detective Corporal Debra Hall... how disrespectful that is", said one commenter. "How easily you forget the actual first female Detective Corporal Debra Hall who died only 8 years ago under this same administration", added another.  Thankfully, the Sheriff's Office provided an explanation for the confusion:

We have had several inquiries centered around Debra Hall who was in fact a Detective as well. In October of 2015 Sheriff Mike Schiff travelled to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City to present Debra Hall, who was terminally ill, with a Detective Shield in recognition of her work in the areas of animal cruelty and undercover narcotics investigations. While Debra Hall was the first female in the Sheriff’s Office to receive a Detective Shield, she was never assigned to the Detective Bureau. That is an important distinction.

The SCSO went on to explain that Detective Cohn would "be working in the back room with her male counterparts investigating felonies and carrying a full case load", and apologized for any confusion the original post may have caused.

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Many comments, including a heartfelt message from someone who identified themselves as the son of Detective Hall, thanked the SCSO for the clarification and wished Detective Cohn luck in her future cases.