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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-11-21 Police Commission Regular MinutesHAWAI`I POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES NOVEMBER 21, 2025 WEST HAWAFI CIVIC CENTER, BUILDING A, COUNCIL CHAMBERS 74-5044 ANE KEOHOKALOLE HIGHWAY, KAILUA-KONA, HI CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Present: Rick Robinson, Chair John Bertsch, Vice Chair Wendy Botelho, Commissioner Arthur Buckman, Commissioner Jacob Tavares, Commissioner Bernadette Urban -Smith, Commissioner Greg Yamada, Commissioner Absent: Lloyd Enriquez, Commissioner Eileen Lacerte, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also present: Reed Mahuna, Interim Police Chief Sherry Bird, Assistant Chief Scott Amaral, Major Thomas Shopay, Major Brian Souki, Captain Sinclair Salas-Ferguson, Deputy Corporation Counsel Michelle Simmons, Human Resources Charisse Correa, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Sam Guckenheimer requested that the Police Chief selection questionnaire and candidate responses be made public to ensure transparency and alignment with civil rights. Patti Cook invited commissioners to a community dinner honoring first responders in Waimea. She commented on recent federal enforcement actions on Kauai, emphasizing the need for strong, responsive leadership within the Police Department. She urged the Commission to prioritize candidates who understand the island's diverse Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 2 communities, uphold due process, the rule of law, and effective communication with the public. Nancy Moser supported the concerns raised by previous speakers, referencing the County Council's resolution on due process and multicultural values. She suggested interview questions should highlight these values and encouraged increasing transparency by streaming portions of the process. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Vice Chair Bertsch motioned to approve the regular and executive session minutes for October 24, 2025, seconded by Commissioner Yamada. With no discussion, the motion carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES Items from the chief's written reports were highlighted: • Crime Report (Major Amaral): 1,827 serious crimes reported through October 31, 2025. Area I and 11 CIS investigated 349 of these cases (260 in Area 1, 89 in Area 11) • Calls for Service: 10,507 calls in October (FYTD: 40,924). • Traffic Report (Major Shopay): FYTD as of November 17, 2025: o Traffic Crashes: 307 (vs. 321 last fiscal year). o Traffic Fatalities: 6 (vs. 5 last fiscal year). o DUI Arrests: 296 (vs.320 last fiscal year). o October Citations: 5,530 total: 3,677 moving, 359 seatbelt, 20 child restraint, 1,146 for speeding. • Vice Report (Assistant Chief Bird): October seizures included 7,101 g of meth, 183g of cocaine, a little over 1g of heroin, 12.87g of fentanyl, 4,312g of dried marijuana, 250g of edibles, over 30 prescription pills, 780g of psilocybin, 15g of steroids, 58 steroid pills, 0.7g MDMA, several items of drug paraphernalia, $2,447 in cash, and over a thousand rounds of ammunition. Twenty-one people were arrested for 68 offenses, and officers executed 31 search warrants. Notably, on November 17, officers arrested an 18-year-old in Kailua-Kona, recovering over 2,500g of marijuana concentrate in vape devices. Following the report, Chair Robinson suggested that future reports include statistics regarding drug -related deaths. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 3 • Personnel Report (Assistant Chief Bird): As of October 31, 2025: o Sworn: 99 field vacancies. Factoring in 4 from the 103rd recruit class, 13 from the 104th, and 12 from the 105th, there are 70 unfilled sworn positions. 423 of 493 positions are filled (86%). o Civilian: 118 of 161 positions are filled (73%). o Communications: 17 vacancies for PCO 1/11 (23 filled); 0 vacancies for Supervising PCO (5 filled). o Assistant Chief Bird provided an update on recruitment activities. • Finance (Assistant Chief Bird): As of October 31, actual overall expenditures were 41.63% (target 36.85%). AC Bird noted that miscellaneous salary expenditures are high (500.91 %) due to hazard payouts pending reimbursement from County Finance. • Other Activities (Interim Chief Mahuna): The department promoted traffic safety through numerous outreach efforts in the past month. At Honoka`a High School, students created a large traffic -safety mural while Ken Nishimura of Keep It Flowing spoke about the impacts of fatal crashes. Area II TEU officers held a Healing Our Highways vigil on October 30 in Kona and Waikoloa. Traffic Services Manager Torey Keltner appeared on Na Leo TV's traffic safety campaign, with additional department personnel scheduled for KITV and KHON2 to discuss holiday traffic safety. The department will increase enforcement during the holidays. Officers assisted the Food Bank with distribution and traffic flow, provided candy safety tips during Halloween events, and participated in trunk -or -treat and other outreach activities for keiki and kupuna across the island. Interim Chief Mahuna emphasized that community outreach is essential for long-term impact. Commissioner Yamada asked about addressing reckless driving following recent fatalities. Chief Mahuna discussed the balance between targeted enforcement and community education. Commissioner Urban -Smith suggested incorporating a cyber unit to address online postings of reckless driving, etc. • Commendations and Awards: Interim Chief Mahuna reported on several recent awards, including Officer of the Month and Quarter awards, and five commendations involving 15 personnel. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: POLICE CHIEF SELECTION PROCESS Michelle Simmons with the Department of Human Resources (DHR) reported that 65 applications were received. After review, 27 applicants met the minimum qualification requirements. Notices have been sent to the qualified applicants. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 4 Process Discussion: • Adherence to Requirements: The Commission and Ms. Simmons confirmed that applicants who failed to follow instructions or meet requirements would not be given an opportunity to resubmit. Ms. Simmons stated she would send notices out today to the remaining applicants who did not meet the minimum qualifications. • Questionnaire/Grading: The 27 qualified applicants will receive the written interrogatories. Commissioners will grade the anonymized responses on a scale of 1-5. Ms. Simmons will compile the cumulative scores from all nine commissioners, and the Commission will then determine the finalists for interviews. Motion to Release Questions: Vice Chair Bertsch moved to release the blank questionnaire questions to the general public to increase transparency, noting that applicant answers will remain confidential at this stage. Seconded by Commissioner Urban -Smith. Motion carried unanimously. Motion on Scoring Process: Commissioner Yamada moved that commissioners will input their individual scores on a spreadsheet provided by DHR and return it to Ms. Simmons for cumulative tallying. Seconded by Commissioner Urban -Smith. Motion carried unanimously. Timeline: • December 3, 2025: Applicant questionnaire responses due. • December 4, 2025: Responses distributed to Commissioners. • December 10, 2025: Commissioner scores due back to DHR. Vice Chair Bertsch moved that commissioners complete the interrogatory scoring and submit their responses to DHR by the close of business on December 10. Commissioner Yamada seconded, with no discussion; the motion carried unanimously. (Commissioner Tavares arrived at 10:16 a.m.) Chair Robinson noted that Ms. Simmons will compile the commissioners' scores and provide the ratings for discussion at the December 19th meeting, when the Commission will determine which candidates to interview. He also announced that both his and Vice Chair Bertsch's terms end in December, with no carryover, and they will conclude their service at the end of the year. Ms. Simmons asked about next steps after tallying the scores, and Chair Robinson instructed her to have the results ready for the December 19th meeting. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 5 NEW BUSINESS • Status of Police Commission's Secretary Position: Chair Robinson reported that, following the October 24 meeting, and as voted on by the Commission, he sent a letter to the Fire Commission stating that the Police Commission's secretary would no longer provide secretarial services to the Fire Commission, due to workload concerns during the chief selection process. The Managing Director responded that He understands the concerns and is dedicated to identifying a solution which effectively supports both commissions, but the secretary will remain status quo and serve both commissions. • Correspondence No. 25-17: Resolution 320-25 (draft 2), adopted by Hawaii County Council. A resolution expressing support for due process and the protection of the constitutional rights for all residents of the County of Hawaii and affirming the County's commitment to multiculturalism and its immigrant heritage. Received and filed; no discussion. EXECUTIVE SESSION (CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC) Commissioner Urban -Smith motioned to meet in executive session to consider charges against 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 County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Seconded by Commissioner Yamada, with no discussion, the motion carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:23 a.m. Motion to reconvene open session made by Vice Chair Bertsch, seconded by Commissioner Urban -Smith, with no discussion, it carried unanimously. The regular session reconvened at 12:20 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS • HPC 25-23: Complainant alleges officers have not responded to her repeated calls, no follow-up was conducted, and expresses dissatisfaction with how her case was investigated. Commissioner Tavares motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct, seconded by Commissioner Urban -Smith. Commissioners discussed systemic breakdowns involving communication, the interface with Animal Control, and the review process by ranking officers. Commissioner Tavares withdrew his motion. Commissioner Botelho made a motion to refer to the Chief for customer service, procedural, operational, administrative, and jurisdictional concerns. Seconded by Vice Chair Bertsch. Discussion followed on specifying the concerns for OPS rather Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 6 than sending it as a general customer service referral, with no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously. Commissioner Yamada made a motion in reference to this complaint, noting systemic issues involving Animal Control's interface with these cases, supervisory approval of initial reports, and communication between the victim and the officer. Vice Chair Bertsch seconded. With no further discussion, the motion carried unanimously. • HPC 25-37: Complainant alleges officer was unprofessional during a traffic stop. Vice Chair Bertsch motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Yamada seconded, with no discussion; the motion carried unanimously. • HPC 25-39: Complainant alleges he was wrongfully arrested. Vice Chair Bertsch motioned to decline based on the complaint's testimony, under Rule 6 (c)(5), the complainant has given notice of their intention to seek remedies through a civil suit. Commissioner Botelho seconded, with no discussion; the motion carried unanimously. • HPC 25-38: (Non -acceptance category). Complainant reported that an employee was unprofessional and rude. Chair Robinson explained that he placed this in the non -acceptance category because it was filed by a department employee, but noted that after further consideration, she was off duty and may have been filing on behalf of her husband. Commissioner Tavares moved to reject the non -acceptance and accept the complaint. Commissioner Botelho seconded, with no further discussion; the motion carried unanimously. Chair Robinson stated the complaint will be accepted, scheduled, and placed on the December 19 agenda. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING • Election of chair and vice chair for 2026. • Review of interrogatories, selection of candidates to interview, the interview process, and questions. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next regular meeting is scheduled for Friday, December 19, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., at the County Building, Council Chambers, Suite 1401, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, HI. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 12:42 p.m. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes November 21, 2025 Page 7 SUBMITTED BY: CHARISSE CORREA, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: RICK ROBINSON, CHAIR