2008-04-07_Bill 270_Ordinance_re_Office_of_Police_Oversight

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Honorable Brenda Ford April 7, 2008 Page 2 In late 2007, Mr. De Silva met with me concerning the present legislative effort. I informed Mr. De Silva (and subsequently informed Mr. Jacobson's office) that I believed improvements to the current system of police officer misconduct investigations was warranted. Although the creation of a new office or position within the County may not be the preference of our office, it was nonetheless important for this issue and proposed bill to be deliberated by the Council, as the promotion of transparency in our police department would benefit all involved. I informed Mr. De Silva it was not the desire of the Corporation Counsel to either lobby for or against this legislation. This is because under our laws, the Corporation Counsel represents not only the Council, but the Police Department and Police Commission as well. All parties would be best served if the Corporation Counsel simply provided legal counsel, as we are mandated to do. If the office took an active role in advocating for the passage or defeat of legislation beyond legal criteria, our Rules of Professional Conduct would necessarily require the retention of special counsel to avoid any conflict of interest. As expressed to Mr. De Silva and our Police Department and Police Commission clients, there is always room for improvement in any system of police misconduct investigations. Further, if it is the collective will of the Council that there is such a demonstrated need for a new office of oversight for our police department such that the voters should be called upon to decide, the Corporation Counsel would not advocate against such a collective effort by the Council. To this end, Councilman Jacobson is commended by our office for his effort in bringing this issue before the Council in a public venue, so that the Council may make an informed decision on the need for any Charter amendment, and the Police Department may be made aware of any specific problems either experienced or perceived by the public with respect to the misconduct of its police officers. Bill 209 Bill 209 seeks to amend the Hawaii County Charter (2000) (hereinafter "Charter") by creating an Office of Police Oversight and Complaints. In the preamble to the most recent draft of the bill, this amendment is necessitated by the "desire to create a civilian oversight mechanism for Hawai'i County" due to "years of frustration expressed by numerous elected officials, police officers, and residents that have had experiences with police that were less than satisfactory." At the first reading of this bill on March 24, 2008, there were five persons who offered public testimony. Tom Whittemore, a police commissioner from Council District 8 (Kailua- Kona), offered testimony as both a police commissioner (Mr. Whittemore serves as the Vice Chair of the Police Commission) and private citizen. Mr. Whittemore