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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-04-23 Police Commission MinutesHAWAII POLICE COMMISSOIN REGULAR SESSION MINUTES APRIL 23, 2010 MAYOR'S OLD OFFICE CONFERENC ROOM, KONA INVOCATION Commissioner Ignacio gave an invocation. Chair Whittemore welcomed new commissioner T. Ka`ili Pe`a- Ferrari, Council District 5. He informed that newly appointed Commissioner Michelle Kualii, Council District 4, was unable to make today's meeting. He also informed that Richard Behenna of Council District 6 resigned shortly after the last meeting. CALL TO ORDER Chair Whittemore called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Tom Whittemore, Chair Donn S. Mende, Vice Chair Carol R. Ignacio, Commissioner T. Ka`ili Pe`a- Ferrari, Commissioner Michael B. Sumja, Commissioner Also present: Harry S. Kubojiri, Police Chief Paul K. Ferreira, Deputy Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief James O'Connor, Captain Molly Lugo, Deputy Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary Absent: Michelle L. Kualii, Commissioner APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Sumja moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS — None APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Ignacio moved to approve the minutes of March 12, 2010, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner Sumja seconded, and it carried unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Ignacio moved to accept the communications as listed. Vice Chair Mended seconded, and it carried unanimously. Hawaii Police Commission April 23, 2010 Page 2 COMMITTEE REPORTS • Budget and Finance (Mende) —No report. • Office Management and Staffing (Whittemore) — No report. • Rules and Policies ( Sumja) — No report. • Contractual Services (vacant) • Public Relations /Information (Ignacio) — No report. Chair Whittemore asked the commissioners to let him know if anyone was interested in being on a particular committee. CHIEF'S REPORT Including: • Crime: Assistant Chief Ferreira summarized the written report. The burglary rate in Puna has decreased, most likely a result of their newly formed task force. Traffic: AC Pacheco summarized the written report. Juveniles from Puna have been using the free Hele -On Bus to commit crimes in Hilo. A person from the mainland has been recruiting these juveniles. They recently issued trespass notices to five individuals prohibiting them from riding the Hele -On Bus and being in the Mo`oheau bus terminal area. Commissioner Ignacio stated that she has first hand knowledge from a former gang member about gang activity. The gangs in Hilo are connected to the Bloods, 18 years and older. According to this young man, they are early in the process, but are growing. When these young people are on the street, there is a void for them. This gang leader suggested opening up their place for activities. She inquired how they, as a community, could work towards change. They need to be proactive. Assistant Chief Pacheco didn't know of any outreach program. Deputy Chief Ferreira stated that the Dare officers work with the school resource officers, and they could work with Commissioner Ignacio's program. Personnel: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported having 3 sworn vacancies, but anticipate some retirements this year. Commissioner Ignacio stated that there is a commonality in complaints about how they were treated rather than mistreated. She inquired about training in dealing with the public. Commissioner Sumja asked what could be done about applicants who do not score high on the written exam but are very suited for the job. AC Kanehailua stated that because of the very large number of applicants, they have to go by test rankings. There are some really good officers who would make very good sergeants, but they cannot pass the exam. They are making good strides in filling the school crossing guard positions. Hawaii Police Commission April 23, 2010 Page 3 Finance: Assistant Chief Kanehailua stated that they are at 71 % of their budget. If this trend continues, they will be okay for the rest of the fiscal year. Although they made cuts in their budget, they did submit an increase of $1.4 million. The County Council was concerned about the Humane Society's budget which has increased substantially since 2005. The Humane Society was placed under the Police Department a few years ago. They are the only county that has the Humane Society under the Police Department. Deputy Chief Ferreira stated that objectives of the Humane Society are sent to them, but they do not have the facility or equipment to do any monitoring. They have many issues to deal with such as dog licenses, carcass on the roadways, nuisances, etc. • Commendations: Chief Kubojiri reported receiving ten commendations since the last meeting. He spoke of an incident where a mother reported her daughter's bicycle being stolen. The dispatcher went to Wal -Mart after she got off work and purchased a bike for the girl. Other Departmental Activities: Chief Kubojiri reported that he met with officers at the Kona station last night. It was an open forum for anything they wanted to discuss. They do it to mitigate concerns. It is pretty much local style where some don't want to bring up, in public, what bothers them but will bring it up one -to -one. Only about a third of the employees respond to their internal survey. Some were concerned about "Big Brother." A common denominator was concern about the communications gap. The bicycle patrol is for CPOs and SROs. The community has been very supportive of it. Officers have been able to really get out in the community and talk with people. It has been more one to one rather than just riding around in a car. He would like to have it in all districts, although Ka'u would be a little difficult. They had a community meeting in Volcano this past Tuesday. The majority of the speakers were from the Peaceful Sky Alliance voicing their views that the police department has been non - compliant with the ordinance. The intent of these community meetings is for the community to voice their concerns and for them to help make improvements. Chief Kubojiri spoke of a newspaper article about his annual evaluation. The article was misleading, and the reporter did not have his evaluation, nor did he speak to him about it. He does not have a problem with releasing his evaluation, but wanted to speak to the commissioners about it first. Chair Whittemore stated that the commission put a lot of work into the evaluation, and it was not a "check the box" type of evaluation. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Revised Rules and Regulations — Any follow -up to Public Hearing which preceded this meeting at 9:00 a.m. Decision - making may continue. Chair Hawaii Police Commission April 23, 2010 Page 4 Whittemore stated that they had a public hearing earlier, but had no submissions from the public. Being that the commissioners had no further changes or discussion, Commissioner Ignacio moved to adopt the rules as amended. Commissioner Sumja seconded. Discussion: Vice Chair Mende stated that under the Public Relations Committee, the chair should be the voice of the commission. Deputy Corporation Counsel Lugo stated that it was not necessary to add it to the rules because it goes without saying, it is protocol, that the chair is the spokesperson for the commission. The motion carried unanimously. State of Hawaii Police Commissioners' Conference, May 20 -21, 2010. Chair Whittemore stated that the focus of the conference will be to understand the roles of the commissioners as well as that of the officers in the field and the challenges they face. They will wrap up the last day with a presentation by Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida. INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINTS STATEMENTS ON COMPLAINTS - None. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Sumja 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 to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities pursuant to HRS 92 -5 (2) (4) and Hawaii County Charter Section 13 -20 (b). Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:47 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 1:58 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS • Complaint HPC 09 -56: Complainant was involved in a traffic stop. She alleged that the officer was rude and threatening. Commissioner Ignacio moved to refer this to the Chief for customer service concerns. Commissioner Sumja seconded, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 10 -03: Complainant was hit by a vehicle while riding a bicycle. He alleged that the responding officers failed to enforce applicable laws and statutes at the scene of the accident and gave him the anti -aloha treatment. Commissioner Sumja moved that they refer the complaint to the Chief for an Internal Affairs investigation and to ask the Chief to look into the law regarding their concerns as discussed in executive session. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 10 -06: Complainant alleged that officers yelled at him and harassed him by issuing him a citation for parking outside of a parking stall. Hawaii Police Commission April 23, 2010 Page 5 Commissioner Ignacio moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Sumja seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS — None. ANNOUNCEMENTS • Chair Whittemore announced that the Police Commission's next monthly meeting will be on May 14, 2010, at the Waimea Civic Center Conference Room, 67 -5189 Kamana St., Waimea. The August meeting in Waimea was rescheduled to the 20th because of conflicts with the State's furlough schedule and Commissioner Sumja's responsibilities on another commission. • Collection of files and documents. — Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m. SUBMITTED: Jasie Pe�a�a JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED: To wt. W k i tte wt.o re TOM WHITTEMORE, CHAIR