2022-12-12 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Special Meeting Minutes December 12, 2022 Page 4 • Moses Kaoiwi Jr., retired Brigadier General, US National Guard provided testimony via zoom. He stated that he is a former police detective with the Hawaii County Police Department and he has worked with three candidates in the past. He stated that he supports Edward Ignacio for this position and submitted written testimony in support of him. • George Applegate came before the commission to support his son, Paul Applegate for the position. He spoke about their humble upbringing and struggles. He spoke on the character and integrity of Mr. Applegate and shared that he was always motivated to learn and expressed that he is self-motivated. He is compassionate and has the leadership skills needed for the position. He feels this is a good opportunity and stated that it's not about winning, it's about using that platform to do something worthwhile. • Mark Arnold came before the commission. He stated that he is a police officer for the Hawaii County Police Department and has been employed there for 24 '/z years. He's also on the SHOPO State Board as a director at large. He stated that SHOPO will not be endorsing any of the candidates. However, they endorse the list and they want to give the commission kudos for all the work they have done in selecting the four best candidates that he feels they couldn't find anywhere else. As a police officer, he will endorse one of the candidates. He knows 3 of the four and they're all good. The one that stands out to him above all is Paul Applegate from Kauai. He stated that Applegate has done nothing in his career but good things, built bridges and works well with his employees and staff. He truly understands the importance of his employees and their rights. He was part of the union and worked in internal affairs, so he has the main idea of what it takes to run a department and understands employees' rights. He explained that currently on the Big Island, they have the highest number of active grievances in the State, even in Honolulu. This is a result of mismanagement. With a leader like Paul Applegate, he believes he's the type of leader they could negotiate with and resolve the issues instead of being tied up in costly grievances. It could be readily addressed and would be beneficial to both sides. • Kevin Hill came before the commission. He stated that the next chief needs to be incorruptible, loyal to the real law, and answerable to the people. He realized as he walked away from his last testimony at the last meeting that what he was actually asking for was a lawfully elected sheriff that was elected by the people and accountable to the people. He's grateful for the Police Commission because this is the closest he gets to that. He's here to say that his prayer is that the police answer to the people and that they know the law. He feels anybody who is in a position to enforce the law should memorize at least the first 12 amendments to the Constitution and should know it inside and out. • Kimberly Hill came before the commission. She stated that she believes that the new police chief needs to be awake to the truth of what's happening. We have heard the