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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-06-21 Police Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JUNE 21, 2019 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI ST., HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair De Luz called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Wayne De Luz, Chair Colleen Pasco, Vice Chair John Bertsch, Commissioner Thomas Brown, Commissioner Joan Obra, Commissioner Denby Toci, Commissioner Absent: Jak Hu, Commissioner Scotty Paiva, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also present: Paul Ferreira, Police Chief Kenneth Bugado, Assistant Chief Mitchell Kanehailua, Assistant Chief James O'Connor Assistant Chief Samuel Thomas, Assistant Chief Burt Shimabukuro, Captain Regino Saludares, Lieutenant Malia Hall, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary PRESENTATION BY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY MITCH ROTH Processing of cases, consolidation, and plea agreements: This was postponed to a later date. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 17, 2019, regular and executive session minutes: Vice Chair Pasco motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Toci seconded, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES • Crime Report: Assistant Chief O'Connor reported that through May 31, there were 7,185 serious crimes, 777 of which were investigated by the Criminal Investigation units. Auto thefts increased and appeared to be crimes of opportunity. North Kohala had 3 burglaries which is substantial for North Kohala. Kona had 15 auto thefts. Ka'u had an increase in burglaries, 13 were in HOVE. The department received 10,231 calls for service in May. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 21, 2019 Page 2 Commissioner Toci stated that there was burned out car on the road in her Hawaiian Acres subdivision which must have happened over night. Assistant Chief Kanehailua stated that that is why he was looking forward to hearing from the Prosecutor. CIU is pretty good at identifying suspects. Commissioner Toci further stated that every month they listen to the reports and wonders what they, as commissioners, can do. Assistant Chief O'Connor stated that he does not have an answer. Many times it's a personal choice, someone committing a violent crime on another person. From his experience, a lot of domestic violence situations involve people under the influence of some type of drug. There are variables. • Traffic Report: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that FYTD, they had 873 traffic crashes and 27 traffic fatalities, 10 of which were DUI fatalities. They had 101 DUI arrests. For May 2019, 4,488 citations were issued: 3,260 moving/regulatory, 273 seat belt, 28 child restraint, and 927 speeding. Personnel Report: Assistant Chief Thomas reported having 28 sworn vacancies through May 31. They will have two more vacancies in July. They lost 2 recruits due to injuries but hope they come back. Recruit graduation will be in July. They are working on background checks for the next recruit class which is a laborious process to find quality people. • Finance Report: Assistant Chief Thomas reported that County Finance transferred FEMA funds into their overtime budget which now makes them a little bit ahead in their budget. Initially, they had to take money from other accounts to pay overtime. (Commissioner John Bertsch entered at 9:20 a.m.) Lieutenant Saludares explained the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, also known as CALEA. The commission was founded by the Department of Justice in 1979. Its purpose is to have proof of public service. They establish and administer the process which is a proven management model. Once it's approved, it provides the police chief with comprehensive written directives. It requires necessary reports and analyses to the police chief. It helps improve relationship with the community and minimize risk and liability. The commission meets three times a year. They look at standards, recommendations, and the world today. Standards cover every aspect of law enforcement. This year, the Hawaii Police Department is undergoing assessment for reaccreditation. There are 484 standards that the assessors look at. In April, they had mock assessments to prepare them for the assessments. They will be undergoing online review of their files beginning today. The assessors will be on the island in August. The Chief was provided an executive summary of the mock assessment. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 21, 2019 Page 3 Chief Ferreira stated that accreditation provides them with standards for best practices. They did an electronic review. When they do a site visit, they will review the actual documents for proof of their policies. The summary report that Lieutenant Saludares referred to said that they are ready for the assessment. As part of the site evaluation, they will accept public testimony. CALEA will be here August 5-8. They will publish a notice in the newspaper. • Commendations of Sworn and Civilian Employees: Deputy Chief Bugado reported receiving 9 commendations involving 10 personnel since the last meeting. • Other Department Activities: Chief Ferreira reported that the new budget went back to the council without the mayor's signature. They got everything they asked for and more, 10 positions for Ka'u and Puna. Two positions will be going to Kona for Criminal Investigations (CSI type personnel.) They are hoping the CIP budget will allow them to at least break ground for the new communications center. Chair De Luz asked the Chief for his thoughts on the Charter change that gives the commission authority to discipline the Police Chief. Chief Ferreira stated that the commission has the authority to hire and fire the Chief. They should have the authority to discipline. Commissioner Bertsch stated that they are trying to close a loophole, and it's just a formality. Chief Ferreira stated that he still has to report to the Managing Director. Recess was called at 10:10 a. m. The meeting reconvened at 10:21 a. m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Program of Work for the Police Commission: Chair De Luz stated that he still needs to work on this. • Program of Work for the Police Chief: Ms. Pelayo stated that they will need a fiscal year status report to work on the Chief's annual evaluation. Commissioner Obra asked if it was appropriate to review the CALEA mock assessment report. The consensus was to request it. NEW BUSINESS • Correspondence 19-04: Invitation to the Hawaii State Law Enforcement Officials Association Conference September 18-20, 2019, hosted by the Maui Police Department. Ms. Pelayo stated that because of their limited funds, they usually limit the number of people who attend this conference in order for more people to attend the Annual Police Commissioners' Conference. Only Commissioner Bertsch expressed interest in attending the conference. • Election of Vice Chair for 2019 (Vice Chair Pasco submitted her resignation to end this month): Commissioner Obra nominated John Bertsch as Vice Chair. Commissioner Toci seconded, and it carried unanimously. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 21, 2019 Page 4 CHAIR'S REPORT ON MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION (None.) EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Obra motioned to meet in executive session to consider charges against officers or employees of the Hawaii Police Department where matters affecting privacy will be involved, to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, and may consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawaii County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Vice Chair Pasco seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:54 a.m. Open session reconvened at 12:20 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS • Correspondence 19-03: Request for representation by Corporation Counsel in Civil No. 19-1-0114. Vice Chair Pasco motioned to approve representation by Corporation Counsel. Commissioner Bertsch seconded, and it carried unanimously. • Investigation of Complaints ✓ HPC 19-05: Complainant alleged that while working in the police station, an officer yelled and used profanity at him. Commissioner Toci motioned to refer the complaint to the Chief for further investigation. Commissioner Obra seconded. Ayes were called by Commissioners Bertsch, Toci, and Obra. Nays were called by Commissioners Brown and Pasco. The motioned died. Vice Chair Pasco motioned to refer the complaint to the Chief for customer service concerns. Commissioner Toci seconded. Ayes were called by Commissioners Pasco and Toci. Nays were called by Commissioners Brown and Bertsch. The motion died. Commissioner Bertsch motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations of misconduct. Vice Chair Pasco seconded, and the motion carried unanimously. ✓ HPC 19-06: Complainant was involved in a traffic stop. He gives a long list of complaints of things the officer did and did not do during the stop. Vice Chair Pasco motioned that there was insufficient evidence of misconduct. Commissioner Bertsch seconded, and it carried unanimously. ✓ HPC 19-07: Complainant alleged that during her traffic stop and arrest, an officer was rude, yelled at her, and lied. Commissioner Bertsch motioned that there was Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 21, 2019 Page 5 insufficient evidence of misconduct. Commissioner Toci seconded, and it carried unanimously. ✓ HPC 19-08: Complainant alleged that during a traffic stop, an officer handcuffed him and used profanity at him. Commissioner Bertsch motioned that there was insufficient evidence of misconduct. Commissioner Brown seconded, and it carried unanimously. • Complaints Not Considered for Investigation ✓ HPC 19-10: Commissioner Bertsch motioned to accept the Chair's decision to not consider the complaint for investigation because it was not filed with 90 -days of the incident and that the complaint does not allege an element of misconduct. Commissioner Obra seconded, and it carried unanimously. ✓ HPC 19-11: Commissioner Bertsch motioned to accept the Chair's decision to not consider the complaint for investigation because on its face it is speculative, hypothetical, not based on factual circumstances; and that the complaint does not allege misconduct. ✓ HPC 19-12: Commissioner Bertsch motioned to accept the Chair's decision to not consider the complaint for investigation because it was not filed within 90 -days of the incident; the complaint on its face is speculative, hypothetical, or not based on factual circumstances; and does not allege misconduct. At the next meeting, the commission will discuss having witnesses attend the meeting. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair De Luz announced that the next monthly meeting is scheduled for July 19, 2019, 9:00 a.m., West Hawaii Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: WAYNE K. DE LUZ, CHAIR