2005-10-21 Police Commission Minutes

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Hawaii County Police Commission Regular Session Minutes October 21, 2005 Page 3 Commander's Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2005: Commissioner Frazier stated that the monthly meetings are a great way to understand what's going on in the department. He encouraged the other commissioners to attend the meetings, especially when it's in their district. Other Departmental Activities: Deputy Chief Kubojiri informed that the recruit graduation would be held on October 27 at Nani Mau Gardens in Hilo. Deputy Chief Kubojiri stated that many things could be done to prevent burglaries. Ms. Lillian Beaufrere of Solutions (in attendance) is a great source of information. They could put word out for people to get involved with community watches. They do recognize the staffing shortage in Kona, some of which can be attributed to the new positions created by the county council, the ice task force, and the airport interdiction program. In addition, they have retirements and other movements. They don't have incentives for officers to live in Kona versus traveling. Requests for transfers go to officers with seniority before recruits. Field training is done in Kona and Hilo. They have OJT in Puna and Waimea only when they have enough in Kona and Hilo. They try to accommodate recruits who live on the west side to train on the west side. The recruit class should be doing on the job training in November. Chair Bertsch reiterated his concern over balancing out the vacancies and making sure it's equal throughout the districts. Chair Bertsch stated that at the last meeting, he shared the story about a young lady who applied for police recruit but didn't take the written test. She stated that maybe if someone had followed -up with her, she might have pursued her police application. He questioned if it were possible for the police department to get a list of people who applied or inquired about the police recruit positions and then use it as target market. Major Ferreira stated that he would look into it. The career fairs are also helping. He commended the Department of Civil Service for their recruitment efforts and for allowing people to retake the agility test. Police officer recruitment is continuous. Recess was called at 11:15 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 11:25 a.m. INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINTS STATEMENTS ON COMPLAINTS JULIE COMPTON (Complaint HPC 05 -20): Stated that she has a lot of stress in her life. There are times when it gets too much and she calls the crisis line. This time the crisis line told her to call 911, which she did. She had just gotten off the phone when her bedroom door busted in on her. A big person grabbed her by the back of her hair. They didn't say who they were. First, they said there was a loud noise complaint. She was kicked in the back. She didn't know why they were there. No laws were broken. She asked for their names and badge numbers, and they said she didn't need it. Someone grabbed her arms from the back like stuffed pig. Her witnesses, her roommates, all moved away. She passed around photos showing bruises on her body. The officers mocked and laughed at her the whole time. She wanted to go to the hospital for medical assistance. Lt. Ballesteros said officers were there because of a help call. They were there to help. She assumed her neighbors called the police.