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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PSC 2019/03/12 2018-2020 Committee on Public Safety 4th Session Hawai`i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii March 12, 2019 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Public Safety was called to order ORDER: at 1:33 p.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair Ms. Karen Eoff, Vice Chair Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Member Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member Absent& Excused: Ms. Valerie T. Poindexter, Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Rene Siracusa: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Bobbye St. Ambrogio: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Juergen Canda: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Douglas Phillips: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. (representing the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers) Daylynn Kyles: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Marcia May: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Dannette Godines: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in opposition. Thunderfoot: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in opposition. PSC-4 March 12,2019 Abalghassem Abraham Sadegh: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), comment. Judi Houle: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Mary Alexander: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in opposition. Margaret Shim: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in opposition. Shana Logan: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), comment. Jeni Waipa: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Shelley Mahi-hanai: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Larkin Correia: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Carol Noel: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), in support. Elisabeth Green: Res. 65-19 (Comm. 122), comment. CHR. VILLEGAS: I see that there are no more testifiers at this time, so we'll close the time for public comment. At this time, Mr. Clerk, if you won't mind reading the resolution. COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. (There were none.) ORDER OF The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, RESOLUTIONS: Order of Resolutions. Res. 65-19: URGES AN INCREASE OF FUNDING FOR ADDITIONAL POLICE PRESENCE IN THE DISTRICT OF PUNA TO ACCOUNT FOR POPULATION GROWTH Requests increasing the ratio of police officers per resident to reduce risk and response times for police officers attempting to help those in need of assistance. Reference: Comm. 122 Intr. by: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend adoption of Res. 65-19. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you. At this time, do we have anyone that would like some discussion? Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Page 2 PSC -4 March 12, 2019 MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, I'm going to speak from the heart here. There's always going to be different sides to every story, and the public testimony was very eye-opening and heartfelt on both sides. What this resolution spoke to me, or how it spoke to me was for Puna, and it clearly came across this is not just a Puna problem, but more of a challenge that Ka`u may face too and other parts of our island. And so we have areas to grow in and that's what this speaks to. For me this is not a matter of want, this is a necessity. Puna needs police officers, and we may need training as well, but we need police officers. I really feel that in this circumstance for what this resolution speaks to, I am more of a conduit here than a writer. I'm just trying to bring what my community asked me for to the forefront. I did choose to ask first. It was told to me that a great legislator can make great gains verbally, and I did spend some time in different offices talking to different people. And what it came down to was that I felt that I needed to write this resolution to verbalize it and give the public a chance to come out to talk and voice their opinions. Whether it be negative or positive, and that's why this is here. That's why we're talking about this. We—you know, some basic facts for everybody. We are 50,000 people plus. In 2020, we'll see real census numbers for how many people are in the Puna area. We are almost completely, almost 100 percent rural. We're the size of Oahu, as mentioned again and again. And we are serviced by eight officers, many of whom are family and friends, and if you speak about something like we dealt with last year and the amount of homicides, and different events that we went through as a police force and as a community, I can tell you that I see a need here. This also does bring about that the police force that we have has had a hard time managing our expectations. And I feel another part of this is a community awareness for how to deal with crime. This is a piece to me of a multifaceted approach to how to make our communities better. And I think what's really important to understand is two more police officers are not going to fix all of our problems. It is going to help though and it is a start. Along with that needs to come community awareness; the willingness of the community to participate in making our own communities better and bring back that feeling that we used to have a long time ago that a lot of you spoke to. Some key words for this was preemptive. This is a preemptive move looking at our census numbers that are coming effective, and being effective in our district. That's what moved me to write this, and I urge my fellow Council Members to support it if you will. I know this is not your district, but I just ask for your support in this. Thank you. Page 3 PSC -4 March 12, 2019 CHR. VILLEGAS: Councilwoman, Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair Villegas. Just got to give some props and shout -outs to my fellow Council Member, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. Thank you for listening to the community and creating a space for all of us to share in this way. I wrote down everyone's name and took track of everything you said, and I'm moved by it. I'm also a little surprised by some of the things that I heard, but again, having this space to talk openly about our experiences is very productive in how we look to address any type of issue and situation. I do want to share that I have taken the time to talk to some of our officers including my friend, Jeni's husband, Officer Dwayne Waipa. And my staff and I spent a few hours with Captain Briski and his team at the Pahoa station to just talk story; built that relationship; really understand what it's like for them to be out there, and it's stressful. It's incredibly stressful for them to have such a small force. They need support, they need more bodies in order to take that stress off, but they also need training. They need support, because I think you're right, we have a lot of issues within our district that are very sensitive. Domestic violence, substance abuse; people that are struggling with disabilities. We need to insure that our officers have the training; the support that they need in order to approach the situations in a pono way. So, I think in addition to asking for funding for police personnel, the Mayor has in his proposed budget, increased funding for personnel in Puna and Ka`u. I think we need to take a step back and look at the system in a holistic way. Do our officers have the resources, the tools that they need to be effective? We can get in more bodies, but if those police officers don't have the tools that they need, how we were going to insure they're successful; how are we going to insure that all of us as a community are safe? I do want to point something out that I was able to learn during my meeting with police officers a couple of weeks ago. And that isI ask them about what kind of calls they got. They talked about substance abuse, domestic violence, assault, abandoned vehicles, squatters; but also lots of calls about suicide ideation. And so, Lieutenant Watanabe mentioned an HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statute) in which the Department of Health is supposed to allocate a mental health emergency worker in each County. Police are supposed to be able to call someone in that arena and say, "Hey someone is a danger to himself potentially and potentially to the community. We need you to come down and do a psych evaluation." Right now, we don't have—our officers have no one to call, and that's scary as a County. We should be very scared because we're opening ourselves up to a liability here. Page 4 PSC -4 March 12, 2019 And so it's, let's take a look at the system, right? Let's see where the gaps are and start being really strategic about where we put our resources in. I'm going to support you 100 percent Matt, and I think that with the budget ad hoc committee we can talk about ways to increase funding in creative ways. I don't think people want to see more tax increases. I think we've got to put interesting ideas on the table. One of the things I'm thinking of working through, and it's something I've started to talk about with Corporation Counsel, is if we want to increase funding, how can we do it in a palatable way to really build trust within the community? And so, on your real property tax, right, what if there was a box that you could check off Those are optional right? Let's just test the waters, it'll be optional, but similar to you getting a new driver's license or signing up to register to vote, you can check a box; $3 to public library or $5 to public campaign. What if, on your real property tax bill, you can check a box? Money to go directly to public safety. That's police officers, that's our fire fighters, that's our prosecutors. We want to make sure that the whole spectrum that's involved in safety gets some of that. So, it's something I'm thinking about. It's a little more—it's I think palatable because it's optional, but if we start there and really identify where we could put those funds, I think we will slowly rebuild trust within community. Because at the end of the day, we are one community. We all have to support each other, because that's the kakou thing to do. So with that, I yield the floor, thank you, Chair. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Kierkiewicz. Ms. Lee Loy. MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. First of all, you know, `atta boy Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. You know, you created a space to have a difficult conversation. It's no secret, my husband is a detective with the Police Department. And so for me, I cannot support this resolution 100 percent, I have to support it 1,000 percent. Springboarding off of everything Ms. Kierkiewicz said, the families; the stress on the families. And I've just got to mahalo Larkin and Jen for being here, because I walk that blue line just like husbands do, and the amount of safety net that the wives and the families and the children; and the mothers and fathers provide. That alone, you cannot put a price tag on. This is a smart way forward. I just really wish that the Police Chief was here today to really feel the emotion in this room and what the community is asking for. With that, I yield. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Ms. David. MS. DAVID: Mahalo, Chair Villegas. And I just want to say to Council Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder that at first glance looking at this resolution, to just you Page 5 PSC -4 March 12, 2019 know, request that our funding be allocated. On its face, it looks like a regular piece of legislation, but because of those efforts, I think we were made aware of how socially impacted this request is. Not only for Puna, but this entire island, because in different districts we have pockets of people that go through the same thing. Most of them do not come out, and thank you everybody for coming out and sharing with us both sides of this very serious problem that I think the County faces. How we go through it, I like these suggestions by our Council Members and I think we as a body need to start someplace, because if we let this go any longer whatever the solution is, I think we have to find something and do, whether it's education, whether it's working with other agencies like the Department of Health that you're referring to, we have to all come together to help all of our families and especially our police and fire who give us protection. I mean, they deserve everything that they can get. And regardless, I think some of the very extreme stories on both ends of this subject matter is something that I really wasn't aware of. And that brings this subject matter into a different light for me. And I don't think—like someone said, just adding bodies will not do it, and I think we have to protect our police force and fire people at the same time. So, it's more than just what you said, but I support this resolution wholeheartedly because I know there's more stories than what we're hearing in this room today; and more issues that we have to, as a body, address. And for the benefit of our communities, all of our communities. So, thank you very much, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder. So, I will be supporting your resolution. Aloha. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Ms. David. Chair Chung. MR. CHUNG: Thank you. You know, I had a conversation with my wife a few years ago that really summed up all of the thoughts that were raised today. You know, I asked her, "Hey don't you think we could really use more police officers on our island?" And she looked at me and she goes, "Well all depends." And I said, "Depends on what?" And she said, "Whether they're good officers, right?" And I really think that, as I said, sums up the two sides. From our perspective, from the County Council's perspective though, I want to really take my hat off to Matt. He's taken an aggressive stance at addressing a longstanding problem in the Puna, and of course Ka`u areas, and really the whole island. I mean we really should be beefing up our police presence, but it's up to the administration. And like Ms. Lee Loy said, I really wish the Chief of Police was here, or at least his administration, to listen to the concerns. Because it's really up to them to make sure that we have a finely -tuned police force. Again though, echoing what Ms. Lee Loy said, and I wanted to say that to, you know, those in the audience who really had a bad experience with the Police Page 6 PSC -4 March 12, 2019 Department. Those guys are under a lot of pressure. I mean I would hate to be in their position where, especially given the lack of manpower in those areas. And they're really remote areas; very, very dangerous. I wouldn't want to be put in that situation. So, I think from our side, it behooves us to provide more funding. That's what we do here, we provide the funding. It's up to the administration to do the implementation, and the training. But, at least from our side, we've got to make a real strong move to get more police officers on the ground. So, I support this 100 percent. Thank you very much, Matt. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Chair Chung. Ms. Eoff. MS. EOFF: Thank you. There's not too much more I can add, but I think what I heard and what I feel is really important for us to take in from all of the testimony and what my fellow Council Members have said is that if we have enough officers and they're trained well, we will take the pressure off of each of them to a certain extent, so that the interaction that they find themselves in with the community will go better, will go smoother, and there won't be as much intense bad reactions in certain situations. That would be the hope I guess, and so I think that more police officers probably, definitely. I read it in the Mayor's message too, it's the focus for Puna. And so, I think you're on point, but as Mr. Chung and others have said, there are needs in lots of other districts too. We have escalating crime happening in Kona too, and the officers are stressed. So, I'm not sure how we're going to deal with that. It's sort of a change in, not only demographics but a change in times. But, I hate to see us going the way of a lot of cities in the mainland, and I hope we can figure out a way to combat that crisis from occurring here on this beautiful island. So, but thanks Matt, for the discussion, and thank you everybody coming out and testifying and sharing your experiences. CHR. VILLEGAS: Thank you, Councilwoman, Eoff. If that's all for discussion then I'd like to call for a vote. All in favor say "aye." Vote on Res. 65-19: The motion to recommend adoption of Res. 65-19 was (Approved) carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Villegas — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Poindexter and Richards — 2. Excused: None. Page 7 PSC -4 ADJOURN- MENT: Approved: March 12, 2019 CHR. VILLEGAS: With that, I'd like to call for a motion to adjourn. There being no further business, at 2:55 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Chair Public Safety Committee RV/dt Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Villegas — 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Poindexter and Richards — 2. Excused: None. (Date) Page 8 PSC-4 March 12,2019 CHR. VILLEGAS: With that, I'd like to call for a motion to adjourn. ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 2:55 p.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn the MENT: meeting. Seconded by Ms. Kierkiewicz and carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David, Eoff, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kierkiewicz, Lee Loy, and Chair Villegas— 7. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Members Poindexter and Richards—2. Excused: None. Approved: z. - March 28, 2019 Ms. Rebecca Vill as, Chair (Date) Public Safety Committee RV/dt Page 8