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Honorable Brenda Ford April 7, 2008 Page 7 Police Commission involve cases where the complainant was arrested and charged for a criminal offense. In many of these cases, the complainant is convicted of the underlying crime, and was motivated to bring a complaint against the police officer by his criminal defense attorney. As stated above, given the sheer large size of our police department, there will be cases where the actions of police officers do constitute misconduct. Further, we submit and concede there may be "bad cops" on the force as recognized above.3 Whether the incidences of misconduct or the prevalence of "bad cops" amounts to a systemic problem is debatable. If the Council believes on the present record there is such a systemic problem, then the need for an Office as contemplated by Bill 270 may be warranted. However, if there is no evidence of a systemic problem, then the inquiry should focus on the present system of investigating allegations of police officer misconduct. 2. What happens if a citizen has a complaint against a police officer? An aggrieved citizen has the option of bringing a complaint against a police officer with the Police Department or the Police Commission. There is no "right way," as the present system allows our citizens to opt for the track they feel most comfortable with.4 For complaints filed directly with the Police Department, the Internal Affairs Division investigates these cases. The Division is physically separated from other department divisions, and is headed by a captain who reports directly to the Chief. After an investigation is completed, the Police Department convenes an Administrative Review Board (ARB) comprised of ranking police officers who hear the Internal Affairs investigation, as well as the accused police officer's case. The ARB then makes a recommendation to the Chief, who makes all final decisions on wrongdoing and subsequent discipline. For complaints filed with the Police Commission, the Commission hears cases each month at its meeting. There is no contested case hearing requirement imposed by HRS Chapter 91, as the more informal process encourages accessibility by our citizens to the Commission. In a number of cases, given the Commission's ability to assess the credibility of the complainant 3 During my 13.5 year service as a prosecuting attorney, I initiated a number of criminal prosecutions against police officers (State of Hawaii v. Sean Kobayashi, State of Hawaii v. Sherwin Taka, State of Hawaii v. Cory Yamanouchi, e.g.). The vast majority of these cases involved actions by the police officers outside of their official duties as police officers. It nonetheless evidences the willingness and in fact the practice of our Police Department in investigating its own police officers and referring the cases for prosecution. 4 Citizens may not feel comfortable going down to their local police station to make a complaint against a police officer. To this end, they are afforded the opportunity to file a written complaint with the Police Commission.