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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-20 Police Commission Regular Minutes HAWAII POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JANUARY 20, 2023 WEST HAWAII CIVIC CENTER, BUILDING A COUNCIL CHAMBERS 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HWY., KAILUA-KONA, HI CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Brown called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Present: Thomas Brown, Chair Denby Toci, Vice Chair Dylan Andrion, Commissioner John Bertsch, Commissioner Pudding Lassiter, Commissioner Rod Quartararo, Commissioner Rick Robinson, Commissioner Donna Springer, Commissioner Anthony Sur, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also present: Benjamin Moszkowicz, Police Chief Chad Basque, Assistant Chief Andrew Burian, Assistant Chief Kenneth Quiocho, Assistant Chief Frank Mohica, Detective Dakota Frenz, Deputy Corporation Counsel Charisse Correa, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS (None) APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Commissioner Andrion motioned to approve the regular and executive session minutes for November 18, 2022, seconded by Commissioner Sur. Commissioner Bertsch stated for the record, he will abstain from voting on the minutes of the meetings he wasn't present for. No further discussion, it carried unanimously, and the minutes were approved. • Commissioner Andrion motioned to approve the regular and executive session minutes for December 12, 2022. Seconded by Commissioner Sur, with no discussion, it carried unanimously, and the minutes were approved. • Commissioner Andrion motioned to approve the regular and executive session minutes for December 13, 2022, seconded by Commissioner Sur. Vice Chair Toci stated those meetings were a great opportunity and expressed her gratitude. No further discussion, it carried unanimously, and the minutes were approved. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 2 POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES • Crime Report: Assistant Chief Quiocho reported through December 31, 2022, there were 2,879 serious crimes. The Area I and Area II Criminal Investigation units investigated 349 of those cases: 211 in Area I and 138 in Area II. • Calls for Service: AC Quiocho reported in December 2022, the department received 10,591 calls for service, bringing the total fiscal year to date at 60,133. Commissioner Robinson asked what's a call for service and how would you rate that. AC Quiocho explained that it's any call that requires a police response or police advice. It could be a multitude of different things from a loose dog, someone requesting advice on a ticket they received, or a serious crime like a murder or terror threat. Commissioner Sur wanted to know if they have stats for calls received on New Year's Eve regarding fireworks. AC Quiocho stated they don't have that information off hand, but he can easily get that information for him if he wants it. Commissioner Sur stated he was just curious. • Traffic Report: Assistant Chief Basque reported that as of January 11, 2023, for fiscal year 22-23, traffic crashes are at 462, compared to 428 last year. Traffic fatalities are at 14 compared to 14 last year. DUI arrests for the year are at 462, compared to 497 last year. DUI arrests for the month of December 2022 are 82, compared to 74 in November. For the month of December 2022, a total of 4,673 citations were issued: 3,094 for moving/regulatory, 354 for seat belts, 33 for child restraint, and 1,192 for speeding. Commissioner Lassiter stated that stats show speeding is higher on the Kona side. She asked where the problem areas are. AC Basque stated officers have been on Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway, especially between Palani Road, by the double lanes, out towards the airport. They've been using more of their traffic grants, so officers have been out there pre and post-shift to take care of traffic enforcement. Commissioner Quartararo wanted to know what is a moving/regulatory violation. AC Basque stated moving tags for example would be someone without a driver's license or insurance. A regulatory citation would be something like a weight tax or safety check violation. Commissioner Quartararo asked where would they find statistics on vehicles that are not in compliance. AC Basque stated it would be a regulatory violation, such as a cracked windshield, no bumper, safety checks, etc. Vice Chair Toci asked if a police speed chase would be reported in the moving violations. AC Basque stated that's a crime and they arrest for that. A pursuit would be resisting an order to stop, which wouldn't be found in the traffic stats. Vice Chair Toci asked how are we on the Big Island regarding pursuits. AC Basque stated they have Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 3 motor vehicle pursuits. He wouldn't say they're often, but it happens. Their definition of a vehicle pursuit is if the driver of the car an officer is trying to stop or pull over is aware that they're attempting to be stopped, but are refusing to do so. Assistant Chief Quiocho wanted to add that motor vehicle pursuit reviews are done separately from a criminal investigation. Resisting an order to stop is a criminal violation, under which the operator of that vehicle can be arrested. Every time there's a pursuit, the officers are required to submit a report relative to the pursuit, and a review is done by the supervisor to make sure it's in accordance with policy. They keep statistics on that and every year annually they submit a report to the police chief on motor vehicle pursuits. They're looking at whether or not the policy needs to be changed, whether or not training is recommended, and if there's equipment available to the officers to limit the number of pursuits that take place. Anytime there's a pursuit, there's a public risk that's at stake. He stated he was the CALEA accreditation manager back in 2014 and they had over 100 pursuits on the Big Island. Out of those 100 pursuits, 50 of them didn't have a review done. They worked with administration, tightened up the policy, and got it to the point now, as Assistant Chief in East Hawaii, he sees fewer pursuits. He sees a lot more use of force taking place than he does motor vehicle pursuits. That tells him that the training is working, the policies are working and they're allowing for better public safety when officers are encountering those situations. There will constantly be people that will take unreasonable risks to prevent being apprehended when they're operating a vehicle, it creates a substantial risk to the public's and officer's safety. Commissioner Bertsch asked him to explain the termination of a high-speed pursuit. AC Quiocho stated a lot of what a police officer does has to do with discretion. Once we start limiting the discretionary powers of police officers, it binds or limits their ability to think outside the box and be able to provide adequate public safety. He had a conversation with someone recently regarding the blue light issue between East Hawaii and West Hawaii, with the blue lights being illuminated more in West Hawaii. There are a lot of nuances with that, that she didn't understand that he was able to explain. He further stated that an officer who is involved in a pursuit, before they decide to turn on lights and sirens and do a chase, they're evaluating a lot of circumstances that involve the chase; what the violation is for, if they can identify the suspect, if there are other means of apprehension besides getting involved in a pursuit. As they're engaging in the pursuit, there are a lot of environmental conditions that are constantly changing depending on the roadway conditions; the weather, the amount of traffic, and whether they're in a school zone. The officer has the discretion to terminate the pursuit, stop immediately, and find some other way to find out who that person was and apprehend them. They invested in officers with training, better policy, and input. What they've done is create a better means by which to record it, justify it, and limit the amount of public risk. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 4 AC Quiocho further stated a lot of people don't know what CALEA means and what CALEA does for an organization. This is a perfect example of what CALEA has done for HPD. There are a lot of parts that go into it and this is just one example of how valuable it is for a police agency that is dedicated to being professional. He stated people throw around the word CALEA like it's a fancy word that makes you sound important, but they don't understand the aspects of it. It's nice to look at where they came from and how they're doing now. It's a big difference between how public service delivery has changed so much with the department. Commissioner Robinson stated he has friends who say they see large work trucks without safety inspection stickers. He asked if there's something that states work vehicles can be on the road without safety inspections. AC Quiocho stated they're in violation if they're driving a vehicle without an adequate PUC license or valid safety inspection. Since he started attending commission meetings, Commissioner Sur has mentioned that large trucks are a major problem and is a concern for him and his constituents. In East Hawaii, they began tracking those statistics weekly and offered to email them to the commission's secretary. They conducted several projects relating specifically to targeting these customized vehicles that are traveling on the roadway that have valid safety checks. They take the safety check, cite them, the person has five days to go back and get another safety inspection, and they go after the safety inspection stations and suspend their license for giving out illegal safety checks. Commissioner Robinson stated that his friends took it upon themselves and took pictures of these work trucks. He asked how can he forward it to someone. Commissioner Bertsch stated when it comes to commercial vehicles, the safety sticker is on the front of the windshield, not on the rear of the vehicle. AC Quiocho stated if you want to forward it, they can make checks on them and see if they're valid. Commissioner Robinson asked who would he forward them to. AC Quiocho stated he can forward them to him or AC Basque via email. Commissioner Sur stated he had met a couple of guys in patrol when they were going through the chief selection process. They were bad-mouthing those in command and he told them they were part of the problem. The large trucks don't just kick up rocks. He explained that he does the body thing with the Police Department, he's seen 200-300 dead bodies and these trucks have killed people. In the past, he had friends who are accident reconstruction experts and pathologists, they introduced bills. He knows commanders push it, but patrol just lets them by and you see these trucks being sold in used car lots. He was told by the State Department that they can only control safety inspection stations, they can't control the car lots that sell them. Enforcement then becomes a major factor. It's gotten better and he appreciates the effort. Unfortunately, patrol is too busy, or they don't feel it's important, or a lot of them are their friends. Vice Chair Toci wanted to know if there's a policy regarding blue lights or if it's up to officer discretion. AC Quiocho stated that it's up to the officer's discretion and explained Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 5 you see it more in West Hawaii because the major in West Hawaii was the captain in Waimea. When she was the captain in Waimea, she told everyone to have their blue lights on during the day. This was during the transition from the bubble lights to the current LED lights. In the past if you left the blue light on with the bubble light, it would melt the outside housing of the light, it wasn't feasible to leave it on all the time. As she moved to West Hawaii, that thought process continued. He leaves it up to the discretion of the officer depending on the type of call they're responding to and what their actual patrol function is for that day. There isn't a policy that mandates that an officer must have their lights on all day while on duty. It goes back to what he's been saying for years, you can't take the discretionary power away from police to be able to effectively provide public safety for people. • Personnel Report: Assistant Chief Burian reported as of January 18, 2023, sworn police vacancies are at 74 in the field, subtract the two recruit classes in progress and they have 58 actual positions that are unfilled. The 97th recruit class started on the 17th and as the chief likes to say, it's a class of ten, himself included, with nine actual recruits. Through January 18th, there are 31 filled police communication officer II positions and 13 vacant. HPD has four supervising police communication officer positions filled and one vacant. A supervisor retired at the end of the year and lately, it seems like things are turning in a positive way in the dispatch center. One of the supervisors was out for a medical reason and just came back today. A dispatcher left for the radio shop a few months ago but has since returned to dispatch. They currently have a class and will be releasing one or two of them to solo call-taking duties on February 1st • Recruitment activities: The 96th recruit class finished their academic training on December 31st, they are now out on FTO. The 97th recruit class has a total of nine in class and will be in academic training until July 15, 2023. There are 38 applicants remaining for the 98th recruit class; 256 applied, 145 took the written test, 71 passed the written, 71 were summoned to the agility, 38 passed, and the total that completed the PHQ by the deadline was 19. They haven't gone through the backgrounds, polygraphs, drug tests, and interviews, so it will most likely be a small class. HPD just put out the next recruitment. They're aiming for three classes this year and are currently looking to improve their recruiting, looking at different avenues to get those numbers up. Police officer III recruitment ran from September 11th through September 22nd, 55 applicants have been referred for departmental screening, which is almost completed. Police lieutenant recruitment ran in September, and the written exam was on September 8th, still pending the outcome, HR is currently reviewing those packets to ensure everyone meets the qualifications. Police major recruitment ran from January 1st to January 10th, pending receipt of that from County HR. Recruitment for Police captain is running from January 22nd to January 31st. The sergeants' list is still active, they had one from last year. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 6 Commissioner Robinson stated that he tries to encourage people to join the recruit classes, but he always hears the same thing about them having to go to Hilo to attend class. He asked if it was possible that they'll ever conduct a class in West Hawaii. He mentioned there's a community college with a nice campus right up the road close by. He stated, if you have a class in Kona, you might get more candidates from here. AC Burian stated that is something to consider, they've never done anything like that. He just saw in the meeting minutes during the chief selection process, one of the candidates brought it up and it's something to consider. Commissioner Robinson added the university campus is a good resource and they have nice facilities. AC Burian stated it's something they need to look at a little closer or some mechanism to make it easier for people in West Hawaii to make it over. For example, he got promoted to sergeant in Kona, being from Hilo, he had the barracks he could stay at during the week and that made it a lot easier for him, not necessarily for his family, but it's for a limited period of time. Commissioner Quartararo asked if they keep statistics on the average age of the applicants, and experience of the applicants, in the context of transfers from other jurisdictions outside of the State of Hawaii. AC Burian stated if he was not mistaken, he had asked something along those lines previously. They don't normally track those statistics in and of themselves, but when that question was asked, they ran the numbers as far as the age coming into the class. The average age was about 27 and the average age coming out of class was approximately a year older. It was just an average age. Commissioner Bertsch stated this question was asked about four months ago and the commission was provided with documentation. Commissioner Quartararo asked about other agencies "raiding" or recruiting Hawaii Police Department officers. AC Burian stated in the past, other departments have done pretty aggressive recruiting. This was earlier in the '90s, particularly in Washington State, Oregon, and sometimes California. They lost a number of officers to them. He doesn't see as many recruiting efforts currently. He explained that HPD doesn't do specific recruiting where they send people up there and he doesn't see other departments doing that either. It's easy enough right now to find information online, such as average salaries and things like that. Sometimes they're just looking for greener pastures or where they and their family are the most comfortable. He explained that HPD doesn't do aggressive recruiting on the mainland. They have social media and they're always looking for people. They have 450 sworn personnel who are the best recruiters out there. The only reason he joined the police department is because he was asked by his then-girlfriend's sister to take the test. He has never considered it before, but that personal approach worked for him. He compares it to church. You don't have a lot of people just walking through your door at your church unless you get out there and plant the seed. He further stated that the department and County need to advocate and support bringing retirement back down to 25 years from 30 years, this might help with recruiting. He feels the new chief will bring that positive spirit and encouragement. They need to raise the morale of the officers and continually emphasize they're the reason they exist as administrators and make sure they have the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 7 Commissioner Quartararo asked of those officers who resigned, what is their average time. AC Burian stated this was also asked previously. They don't have an average time. They lose a lot in the beginning, in recruit class, he's taking that out of the equation. Once the officers are solo, he estimates it would be around the 5-12 year mark. It all depends on several variables, they don't have exact statistics. They do exit interviews with those that leave, to see how they can retain people better. Commissioner Bertsch stated from a holistic approach to recruitment, looking at the data/analytics to figure out what motivates this generation to become recruits. There are a lot of people that want to become officers, they take the test and psychological evaluations, but don't pass. He recommends the department look at junior colleagues and establishes a program to introduce them to law enforcement. AC Burian stated the chief has already shared some ideas with him. Chief Moszkowicz stated this is one of the things he wanted to share today. He spoke about a young man, about 18-20 years old whom he recently met. He was respectful, an excellent communicator could carry on a conversation, seemed relatively intelligent, and was in good physical shape, so he asked him why he was working there and not at the Police Department. He responded and said he has never thought of it, no one ever asked him. Chief Moszkowicz further explained the more recruiting we do in unconventional ways will help. Chief Moszkowicz reported that he has meetings scheduled with people at UH Hilo and Hawaii Community College. He feels the department would be remiss if they don't establish some sort of relationship with academia. He further explained it's a difficulty for the police department because there are kids out of high school, kids who are starting college who are perfect candidates, but they are not at the point where they can bring them on board. He stated if we can do it now and get it up and running by April or May when classes get out, why can't we bring them on board as contract hires, have them help with administrative things in the department, and in the meantime offer classes for how to pass a civil service test and this wouldn't be just for them, it would be for whoever was interested. They could also be provided with tips on how to pass physical assessments. The days of just waiting for the line to form outside the station of people who want to join the department are over. The department needs to be more proactive about establishing relationships, getting people on board, and grooming them to join the department. This is one of the five things that he wants to focus on immediately in the next couple of months so they can start converting positions into contracts and offer those contracts to people. Commissioner Lassiter suggested they also go to grade schools because that's where it starts. Chief Moszkowicz agreed. Vice Chair Brown stated HPD always seems to start off with around 200 applicants for each recruit class. Of course, some don't pass because they fail the psychological test. He wanted to know if it's explained to the applicant why they didn't pass the Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 8 psychological test. AC Burian stated he doesn't know what specifics they are given, but they are told that they did not pass. He stated that he can't speak to the letter that they send the applicants and what the department tells them. He doesn't believe they are given the specifics, but they are told that it's not a be-all-end-all. They had people who haven't passed the psych and had tried again. It doesn't mean they won't pass it going forward. Sometimes circumstances in your life, distractions, or other variables are a factor. Applicants are told that they can always reapply. Commissioner Robinson stated that he spent ten years on the civil service commission. They had a lot of hearings regarding people that have been terminated, a lot of police recruits and officers. Whenever they would appeal their removal from recruit class sometimes it was due to failing the psychological evaluation or the lie detector test. They weren't told why they didn't pass the psych evaluations, they contested it and would have the psychologist testify and sometimes it was traumatic what they had to hear during the course of those. That was an eye-opener for him to see the reasons why officers were removed. There were also police officers who weren't removed but didn't pass probation. One thing that bothered him was the question asking about drug use on the questionnaire. There were several people who appealed that, there are people who smoked pot in high school and wouldn't be able to get the job, but he believes it has since been changed to two years. • Finance: Assistant Chief Burian reported that as of December 31, 2022, their targeted overall expenditure was 47.8% and the actual was 47.05%. Salary expenses target expenditure through the payroll period was 54.17% and the actual was 53.42%. Regular salaries and wages consisted of 47.19%, overtime salaries and wages were 194.47%, and miscellaneous salaries and wages were 76.43%. • Commendations: Chief Moszkowicz reported receiving four commendations, involving seven personnel since the last Police Commission meeting in recognition of outstanding services. Three in South Hilo and one in South Kohala. ➢ Pleasant Hill Police Department Chief Alfonso Pizzano expressed appreciation to Detective Richard Itliong for his professionalism and hard work in interviewing a suspect in a homicide investigation that allowed them to complete their investigation. ➢ Captain Rio Amon-Wilkins commended Detective Derek Morimoto and Officer Edwin Namohala Jr. for their outstanding investigative efforts and dedication in a case that was reclassified from suicide to murder. ➢ Department of Agriculture Inspector Maria McCarthy expressed appreciation to Officers Bryson Pilor, Sean Kepo'o, and Greg Matias for their investigative work on a burglary that resulted in the speedy recovery of their stolen vehicle and the apprehension of a suspect. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 9 ➢ Chief Moszkowicz shared that he had the opportunity to attend the Aloha Exchange Club's Officer of the Month luncheon. Three of their officers were also honored there for their hard work. It was rewarding as a brand-new chief, and a brand-new employee seeing that they're out there doing hard work, they're dedicated, and we have a community that appreciates their efforts and rewards them. ➢ Mr. Richard Antonio expressed appreciation to Acting Chief Kenneth Bugado for following up on his email. ➢ Assistant Chief Burian reported in the dispatch center, a dispatcher was taking vitamins and it got stuck, she couldn't breathe and was about to blackout. She got up, tapped another dispatcher, and gave the universal sign showing she was choking. Rowell gave her the Heimlich maneuver dislodging two vitamins that were stuck in her throat and she was able to breathe again. Chief Moszkowicz stated they have an internal reporting mechanism for people who do outstanding work. They have medals for heroism and merit. He would like to see a public forum where they can award these things and have the families and the commission attend and have the media come out, take pictures, and run stories showing the great work that they're doing to help make the community safer. Commissioner Bertsch stated he feels HPD can do a better job at publicly recognizing officers for doing good work and the commission has missed that opportunity as well. He asked the chief, as he works through formalizing that program, to keep the commission in the loop because he feels the commission should also have a document they could issue. If we all work together, we could have that program put into place. Vice Chair Brown agrees and stated it would be good for the officers' morale because normally if they come before them, it's because of a complaint or something not so positive and this would be a good balance to that. Commissioner Toci expressed that she is thankful for West Hawaii media because they promote a lot of the good work that the police do, unlike the Tribune-Herald. She stated that she's trying to get Hawaii Tribune-Herald on board too, to promote these media releases for the officers. Commissioner Andrion wanted to know the names of the three officers that were honored at the Aloha Exchange Club's luncheon. AC Quiocho stated it was Jayce Carvalho, Sybastian Keltner, and Taylor Cruz. CORRESPONDENCE Correspondence No. 23-01: Annual Misconduct Report to the State Legislature. Chief Moszkowicz stated this is the copy that they sent to the State Legislature, as required Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 10 every year. A few years ago, the statute changed, requiring them to name the officers. They made their own decision to post the list on their public website as well, so you don't have to go to the legislature or wait until they release it. HPD made the decision to exclude the names of the officers on their version where the disposition isn't completely finalized. If the information is desired, it will be available publicly on the legislative website as well. Commissioner Toci wanted to know how the officers are supported during this. She asked if there was anything in place, something showing the officers where they can improve. Recruiting is one thing, retention is another, we want officers to feel supported. AC Burian explained that an investigation is done to ensure that this is fair. After the investigation is completed, there's an administrative review board. During that, the five-member board will consider the charges. They have to agree if it will be sustained or not. The board can recommend re-training for this person, recognizing that this person needs some help. Discipline is a corrective process; the idea is to correct the behavior. They try to make the investigation as fair and open as possible for the employee. He shared that when he had officers who had been disciplined, he would sit down and talk with them. The commander or supervisor should help them move forward to ensure the success of the officer who has been disciplined. It's unfortunate that the names are attached to this, that in itself is a stigma. He understands the need for transparency, however, there's a grievance process which is why they decided to hold off on their internal list until that grievance process is completed. They want to respect the collective bargaining agreement and respect the officers. If this name is put out at the beginning of the process before they had a chance to grieve this, and they're successful in their grievance or arbitration, their name would still be out there which would be unfortunate because in the end it's overturned. They want to support their people and the collective bargaining agreement and in the long term, if this discipline is upheld, they will release the name as the law requires on their website. He clarified that they comply with the law with the report to the legislature. • Correspondence No. 23-02: Correspondence received from Chief Darryl Perry (retired KPD) for information to the commission. Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) entitled "Transforming Police Recruit Training: 40 Guiding Principles." Recess was called at 10:21 a.m., the meeting reconvened at 10:35 a.m. Commissioner Andrion left the meeting at 10:30 a.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION (CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC) Vice Chair Toci motioned to meet in executive session to consider charges against the officers or employees of the police department, where matters affecting privacy will be involved; to consider sensitive matters related to public safety, and may consult with the board's attorney 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 Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 11 County Charter Section 13-20(b). Seconded by Commissioner Springer, no discussion, all in favor, executive session convened at 10:36 a.m. Motion to reconvene open session made by Commissioner Robinson, seconded by Commissioner Bertsch, and it carried unanimously. Regular session reconvened at 12:40 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS • Investigation of Complaints ➢ HPC 22-49: The complainant alleges that an employee has divulged confidential information. Commissioner Bertsch made a motion to refer to the chief for customer service, procedural, operational, and administrational concerns. Commissioner Robinson and Vice Chair Toci seconded, and all were in favor. Vice Chair Toci stated she would like to further make a motion for an administrative inquiry into five TRO violations, cases are 22-055790, 22-053866, 22-062225, 22-067930, 22-047613, 22-060541, and 22-080118. Seconded by Commissioner Robinson, no discussion, all in favor, motion carried. Chair Brown asked Ms. Correa to draft the letter. Ms. Correa stated there was a motion to refer this to the chief for customer service, there's also this request for an administrative inquiry. She asked exactly what would you like stated in the letter. Vice Chair Toci stated the status of the reports, any response that can be provided, and maybe even a follow-up by the officers. DCC Frenz asked if the commission would rather have this matter pending and have the officers that generated these reports get a status of where those reports are and come here to respond. Or do you want OPS to do that and just get a final response, or do you want all the officers to come in? Chair Brown stated if we do that, it'll take months. Commissioner Bertsch stated for the purpose of inquiry, you can take as much time as you like, it's up to you. If you feel there's something there then you can go there. Vice Chair Toci stated there may be something there and there needs to be accountability. Commissioner Bertsch suggested having OPS review the documentation, and the case numbers provided, and report back with the status. If you want to continue, you could ask the officers to meet with the commission. Vice Chair Toci stated that sounds fair. ➢ HPC 22-51: The complainant alleges dereliction of duty, stating officers refuse to issue citations for parking violations and illegal vendors. Commissioner Bertsch made a motion that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Sur seconded, with no discussion and it carried unanimously, motion carried. ➢ HPC 23-01: Complainant alleges violation of privacy rights. Vice Chair Toci made a motion that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Seconded by Commissioner Sur, with no discussion, it carried unanimously, motion carried. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 12 ➢ Complaints in the non-acceptance category: o HPC 22-52: Commissioner Robinson motioned to accept the chair's decision to decline the investigation due to the 90-day rule. The complaint was filed 668 days after the incident. Seconded by Vice Chair Toci, with no discussion, and it carried unanimously, motion carried. o Correspondence 22-11: Commissioner Robinson motioned to accept the chair's decision to decline the investigation. The complainant has given notice of intention to seek remedies through a civil suit. Seconded by Commissioner Lassiter, with no discussion, it carried unanimously, motion carried. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING Commissioner Sur suggested the commission have a debriefing at the next meeting regarding the chief selection process. The commission could discuss the positives and negatives of what we went through and any suggestions on where we could have improved. Chair Brown stated basically, Commissioner Sur is requesting to place on the next agenda that we discuss how the process went. Commissioner Sur stated they could talk about what could've been changed or improved upon. Chair Brown asked if anyone is opposed to this suggestion, and there were none. Commissioner Bertsch stated it was a good idea. He further stated there was a tremendous amount of correspondence between the Chair, Corporation Counsel, the Mayor's Office, and the HR Department. Because of the Sunshine Law, our hands are tied in communicating directly back to the commission, and even when we got into executive session, what got us to the point where we were was like navigating playing a game of Tetris. He stated he's happy to expose this information to the commission, so they understand the herculean effort they went through just to get to some of these points where we could lay out to the commission an efficient way of going through the process, without jeopardizing the integrity of it. Commissioner Sur stated regarding what Commissioner Bertsch said about the chairman's correspondences, it's kind of a gray area. If you guys were communicating, we weren't purview to a lot of the stuff. He asked DCC Frenz for her opinion on the Sunshine Law when it comes to this. DCC Frenz stated Sunshine Law is for the public, it provides transparency between boards and commissions and the public who may be interested in the information that the boards and commissions have. The Sunshine Law sets up very specific parameters by which conduct must occur and it also sets out what you cannot do. She thinks the point Commissioner Sur is trying to make is wanting to have the purview of that part of the process, as opposed to the public for example. If she thinks she understands what he's trying to say, it's almost like a double negative. She further stated Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 13 this commission, via her and/or Ms. Correa provided you with information that you needed to be purview to. If you needed to be purview to something or if there was an absolute must, it was sent out via bcc. There's quite a lot of ongoing behind-the-scenes work that the commission had no participation in, such as what Ms. Correa does. It's primarily so you don't have to be bothered with a ton of emails that really have no bearing on what you need to do. When you need to know, you'll know. If there are certain things that a commissioner maybe wants to be informed of, we could have that conversation. She isn't aware of nor would she have participated in any sort of withholding that would have been inappropriate or unfair to any members of this commission. Maybe once you have a better understanding of all the work that went into getting it to where it was when it was then delivered to you, maybe you could say then, that's something you would want to participate in. If that's the case, you could become chair as well. There are certain additional tasks and roles that the chair takes on so that you don't have to deal with all of that. According to Sunshine Law, we can't have all commissioners in email communication with DHR, this would violate Sunshine. Chair Brown stated it sounds like if you're not the chair, it's like a need-to-know basis. Commissioner Bertsch stated no it's not. Nothing would make him happier than to inform all of them in open session as to what has transpired. The problem is, in order to get to the point where we have a meeting, all those parts and pieces have already been figured out. When we get to certain aspects where a decision is made or needs to be made by the commission, we come to a grinding halt, until we wait a few weeks for another meeting. That's why the selection process couldn't move any faster. Chair Brown stated he feels the process went quickly and was surprised because it took longer to hire Ms. Correa than to hire the chief. Commissioner Bertsch stated that was because DHR made him and Denby Toci attend interview training. Commissioner Bertsch stated he fought with DHR for a week because DHR wanted all commission members to attend interview training prior to the selection of the chief. Chair Brown stated he thinks what commissioner Sur is saying is he wanted to be more involved in the process. DCC Frenz stated the reality is, what was done was to protect Sunshine and to make sure we follow the necessary protocols and procedures that the commission voted on in open session and was discussed and agreed upon, whether in open or executive session. It was a matter of implementing exactly what you agreed would be the process. If at any time you wanted to change that process, all you had to do was make a motion to adjust, accommodate or somehow deviate slightly to maybe expand the dissemination of information that was more behind-the-scenes corralling of information. Commissioner Sur stated what you said about stuff going on, we weren't purview to some of that stuff. You could have told us in a way that wouldn't have violated Sunshine. He wanted to know the process for the questioning ahead of time. He's a planner, he likes to know how things are going to work out, and he doesn't wait `til the last minute. He wanted to know the process and how they were going to question the candidates. They really didn't know until...DCC Frenz stated that's because you guys as a commission failed to Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes January 20, 2023 Page 14 take any action to set that. She stated she is the attorney for the commission, that's not her job and it wouldn't be appropriate. Commissioner Sur stated they can discuss this later, he wants to get out of there, but this stuff should've been told to him beforehand, it was up for a vote, but they should've done it way ahead of time. DCC Frenz stated that's not her job, that's your job to make a motion. Chair Brown stopped the conversation and stated this will be on the next agenda. He further stated next time there's a chief selection process, the commission needs to say something right away and put it on the agenda. Vice Chair Toci stated that she has something else to add to the agenda. She and Commissioner Bertsch attended a chaplain's meeting and they wanted to share what happened in that meeting. Commissioner Bertsch said he thinks Vice Chair Toci is recommending inviting the chaplains to the next meeting. We could ask Chaplain Godoy to do a briefing for the commission. Vice Chair Toci stated that's a good idea. DCC Frenz suggested clearing the record as to which commissioners attended the private swearing-in ceremony for the chief. Commissioners Bertsch, Lassiter, Toci, and Brown attended the ceremony. Commissioner Sur stated three commissioners didn't show up to the recruit graduation. They had their reasons, but as a matter of courtesy, they should call and advise they're not going to show up. Those spots were purchased, so call somebody and let them know if you can't make it. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Brown announced the next regular meeting is scheduled for February 17, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., at the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 1:01 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: CHARISSE CORREA, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: THOMAS BROWN, CHAIR