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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-02-22 Police Commission MinutesHAWAII COUNTY POLICE COMMISSION MINUTES — REGULAR SESSION FEBRUARY 22, 2002 KEAUHOU BEACH RESORT CALL TO ORDER Chair Okabe called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Wilfred M. Okabe, Chair Horace S. Hara, Vice Chair John M. Bertsch, Member Daniel C. Kama, Member Phoebe M. Lambeth, Member Dwight K. Manago, Member Clarence Mills, Member Walter Moe, Member Also Present: James S. Correa, Police Chief Thomas Hickcox, Assistance chief Gary Maesato, Business Manager Lincoln Ashida, Corporation Counsel. Josie Pelayo, Secretary Excused: Peter P. Muller, Member APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Lambeth moved to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Mills and unanimously carried. COMMENDATION Chief Correa presented a commendation to recently retired reserve police Officer Donna Kualii for his many years of service to the Police Department and County of Hawaii. STATEMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS (Open to the Public) CRAIG J. CARVALHO, spoke on Complaint HPC 01 -51. Stated that his problem has been going on for years. He lives in Milolii and tries to keep out of trouble. He calls the police department to have people leave him alone, but every time he calls they give him the round - around. He played a tape recording of an incident at the police station at which time he stated the officers would not help him. Commissioner Mills moved to accept the complaint for further investigation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambeth and unanimously carried. STATEMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS (Executive Session) Commissioner Manago moved to meet in executive session to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the Hawaii County Police Department where consideration of matters affecting privacy will be involved and a closed session is requested, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, and liabilities. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Hara and unanimously carried. The commission convened into executive session at 10:12 a.m. and reconvened back into regular session at 10:20 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Vice Chair Hara moved to approve the minutes of January 18, 2002, regular and executive sessions. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambeth and unanimously carried. PERSONNEL ORDERS Commissioner Manago moved to accept the personnel orders as listed. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Hara and unanimously carried. COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Mills inquired into Correspondence 8. He questioned Chief Correa whether Mr. Pranke ever made an appointment with him to discuss his concerns, to which Chief Correa stated he had not. February 22, 2002 Minutes — Regular Session Page 2 Corporation Counsel Ashida informed that he spoke to Mr. Pranke the day before, and suggested he speak to the Chief about his concerns. COMMITTEE REPORTS • Budget and Finance: Commissioner Manago presented a report under new business. • Office Management and Staffing: The committee had no report. • Rules and Policies: The committee had no report. Contractual Services: Commissioner Manago expressed concern that there should be a time limit for investigations referred to the investigator. The commission should be able to get back to the complainant in a reasonable time. Commissioner Lambeth stated that the collective bargaining contact also has a time limit on investigations. Vice Chair Hara stated that 60 days a reasonable time to complete an investigation. Commissioner Kama, of the Contractual Services Committee, will speak to the investigator about their concerns. • Public Relations: Commissioner Lambeth reported that they attended the recent police recruit graduation. Chair Okabe reported that he and Commissioner Manago attended the Salary Commission meeting and gave a presentation in support of a salary increase for department heads. He expressed concern that they need to do more work on public relations. CHIEF'S REPORT • Crime: Assistant Chief Hickcox summarized the report that was distributed and filed. • Traffic: Assistant Chief Hickcox summarized the report that was distributed and filed. • Personnel: Chief Correa summarized the report that was distributed and filed. Finance: Business Manager Maesato summarized the report that was distributed and filed. He stated that they have no bids for auto insurance, and that they probably will have to pay a higher premium. Chief Correa reported that in the last seven years, they added 35 more vehicles. In the past two years they had 39 claims out of approximately 350 vehicles. He doesn't believe this is an inordinate number. Vehicles are subsidized, not county- owned, and officers pay for their own comprehensive and collision insurance. Chief Correa distributed a report on firearms statistics. Stated that more than half the permits issued were for handguns. Chief Correa requested an executive session to discuss personal matters. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Status of the Annual State of Hawaii Police Commissioners' Conference May 9 -10, 2002. Vice Chair Hara reported that he and Ms. Pelayo met with police personnel to work on details of the conference. Commissioners have been concerned about asking the right questions in complaints, and this will be the theme of the conference. The committee will continue to work on the conference and report back to the commission. Commissioner Lambeth reported that she is working on the program that will consist of a keynote speaker in the morning, and in the afternoon they will have a panel discussion made up of people from the different counties. February 22, 2002 Minutes — Regular Session Page 3 NEW BUSINESS • Status report of current and past budgets and its effects on the police department. Commissioner Manago summarized his written report. He expressed concern that due to many years of a status quo budget, the department has suffered. Antiquated equipment has caused backlogs in investigations. Some districts are under - manned and under - supervised. At times Kau has no supervision. He recently visited the Puna station and was shocked to see the condition of the building and the very poor conditions the officers have to work with. The Puna station should be completely renovated or they should get a new building. Due to funding, he questioned whether they would get more manpower or a new building. Commissioner Kama stated that he has visited the Puna station many times, and they need both. Commissioner Manago asked for the commission's support in bringing the budget concerns to the County Council on March 15. Commissioner Mills moved to accept and support Commissioner Manago's report to the County Council. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hara and unanimously carried. • Complaint HPC 02 -01: Complainant Nathan Shafer alleged that the police were called following an incident at a bar in Hilo. They threw him against his car and he hurt his arm. Commissioner Mills moved to defer the complaint to the next meeting in order to allow the officer to respond. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambeth and unanimously carried. EXECUTIVE SESSION: INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINTS Commissioner Lambeth moved to meet in executive session to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the Hawaii County Police Department where consideration of matters affecting privacy will be involved and a closed session is requested, and to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, and liabilities. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Hara and unanimously carried. The commission convened into executive session at 12:00 p.m. and reconvened back into regular session at 12:45 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS • Complaint HPC 02 -02: Complainant alleged that during a traffic stop in Kona, an officer called him stupid in front of his kids and threw the citation at him. Commissioner Mills moved to accept the complaint for further investigation. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lambeth and unanimously carried. • Correspondence 07, request by SHOPO to rescind and withdraw the commission's report and findings in Complaint HPC 00 -42. Commissioner Lambeth moved that Corporation Counsel Ashida will respond for the commission, and that the commission will not rescind its decision. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Hara and unanimously carried. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Okabe asked the commissioners to turn in their chief of police evaluation form within the next two weeks. He also announced that the next meeting is scheduled for March 15, 2002, at the Hilo Police Department. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:48 p.m. SUBMITTED: APPROVED: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY WILFRED M. OKABE, CHAIR