Harry J. Corbitt
April 16, 2008 - March 3, 2010
Harry J. Corbitt served 25 years with the New York State Police, retiring in 2004, before Governor David A. Paterson asked him to return to service as Superintendent of the Division of State Police on April 16, 2008. He has the distinction of being the first African-American in the history of the State Police to hold the agency's highest rank.
Superintendent Corbitt joined the State Police on February 20, 1978 and served as a trooper in Troop E until 1984. In 1984, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served as Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Basic School at the New York State Police Academy. In 1988, he was appointed to the position of Zone Sergeant. Following his promotion to Lieutenant, he was assigned first to the Traffic Services Division at Division Headquarters and later to the State Police Academy. He was promoted to Captain in 1991.
In 1993, he was promoted to Major and assumed command of Troop T on the New York State Thruway. He was promoted to Staff Inspector in 1994 and assigned to Employee Relations where he focused on the issue of racial profiling. In Employee Relations he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and then to Colonel, becoming the Deputy Superintendent for Employee Relations in 1997. In 2001, he became Deputy Superintendent in charge of Internal Affairs, where he served until his retirement in 2004.