Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-15 Police Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JUNE 15, 2012 PUNA CONFERENCE ROOM HAWAI‘I COUNTY BUILDING, HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair Kenneth Ono called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Kenneth T. Ono, Chair Carol R. Ignacio, Vice Chair Paul W. Horner, Commissioner T. KaÒili PeÒa-Ferrari, Commissioner Guy K. Schutte, Commissioner Leroy J. Victorine (entered at 9:10 a.m.) Excused: Michelle L. Kualii, Commissioner Jessanie L. Marques, Commissioner Donn S. Mende, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Harry S. Kubojiri, Police Chief Paul K. Ferreira, Deputy Chief Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Randy Apele, Major James OÓConnor, Captain Samuel Kawamoto, Captain Lincoln S. Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Ignacio moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES April 20, 2012, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari moved to approve the minutes. Commissioner Schutte seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. COMMUNICATIONS Correspondence 2012-04, request for representation by Corporati Police Officer Richard Itliong in Civil No. CV 1:10-00749-DAE/KSC. Commissioner Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 15, 2012 Page 2 Horner moved to accept the correspondence. Commissioner Ignacio motion, and it carried unanimously. Discussion was held in executive session. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT ON DEPARTMENT ACTIVITIES Including, but not limited to: Crime report by area, category, and trends: Major Randy Apele gave the crime report. He reported that up to May 31, 2012, there were 7,333 serious crimes in Area I and Area II, of which the Criminal Investigation Units investigated 1,949 of those cases, 1,281 in Area I and 668 in Area II. For the month of May, the Police Department received 7,939 calls for service. 2,645 were for criminal and traffic and 5,294 were for miscellaneous public assistance. In the District of South Hilo, they had a high amount of break-ins into parked motor vehicles. They increased media coverage and reminded the public to be proactive, to lock their cars, and not leave valuables in view. Burglaries, which are break-ins into homes, have increased in Hilo and Puna over the last several months. They have gone back to doing old fashion police work. In Puna theyÓve gone to the problem areas such as Hawaiian Paradise basically stopping vehicles for traffic violations and gaining intelligence off of that, identifying the guys who are going out and doing these break-ins and working on sharing information. Another big thing they are working on is the pawn shops and the gold dealers. South Hilo Patrol has people assigned to specifically do follow-ups at pawn shops. Once they identify known or suspected burglars, they see the same names over and over again pawning items. They try to connect the items from the pawn shops to the victim reports and try to match up the items and try to identify who may be responsible. They are also working on educating the pawn shops about their lawful compliance and reporting. If they receive an item, they need to make sure they have a good description and receive the proper identification so when the police follow-up, they have good information. One of the biggest problems they now have is the gold dealers. The opinion is that they fall under the same rules and regulations as the pawn shops. They are trying to get them to comply with those rules and regulations. A lot of times they receive gold and ship it out right away, that day, so they have no opportunity to track the items down. ItÓs very popular now to steal jewelry and get them to the gold dealers right away. Puna had about three to four robberies from the beginning of this year. They arrested a 19-year old male who was responsible. They are pretty confident that those robberies will cease as long as they have him in custody. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 15, 2012 Page 3 On the west side of the island, Kona had an increase in burglaries in the Hlualoa area. That abated after the suspect in that area was arrested by patrol for some unrelated incident. Sometimes they might know that a person is some crimes, but they are not able to tie them in to get enough to get probable cause to arrest. But, they are able to enforce some other crime such as traffic violations or outstanding bench warrants and get them off the streets. Traffic report by area, category, and trends: Captain James OÓConnor summarized the traffic report. He reported that for the month of May, 4,309 citations were issued, of which 2,962 were moving/regulatory, 282 for seatbelt, 43 for child restraint, and 1,022 for speeding. They have seen a high number Kona for seatbelt and mobile devices. This is the first year that they have been tracking the use of mobile devices. He has not seen a decrease citations. Traffic trends in Hilo, they had 31 major accidents on various roads. Officers are trying to work more in enforcement and having more visibility in those areas when they can. In North Hilo, they had 4 traffic accidents involving one vehicle and three were the result of running over items on the roadway. Rocks in the gulches are always a contention. Officers have been advised to make continu make sure to clean debris off the roadways. Puna had 9 traffic accidents, most likely due to speed. They will continue with traffic enforcement in those areas. There are no trends in West HawaiÒi. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported having 32 sworn vacancies. Their training sergeant will retire in July. The sergeantÓs exam was given last month. Two officers c polygraph exam. Maui Police DepartmentÓs polygraph examiner helped them screen applicants. One hundred recruit applicants will be moving on to the next phase. Their Information Systems analyst will start on Monday. Other vacancies are in the process of interviews or selection. The CALEA assessment was moved back a week to August 5-8. They will be shipping 270 files to the assessors for their review. August 6 is scheduled for public review and input of the department. Staff will be there to address concerns. They are looking to have this done in the Aupuni Center conference room. . They will also have a phone call-in line. Finance report of budget and expenditures: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that they are tracking below budget. Kudos is given to the commanders who track every expenditure. Their 2012-13 budget is now on the MayorÓs desk. The budget they submitted showed an increase of $200,000 which included the portable handheld radios. With CALEAÓs standards, they have to have well-trained officers and documentations. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 15, 2012 Page 4 Commendations of sworn and civilian employees: Deputy Chief Ferreira reported having 27 commendations since the last meeting. Other departmental activities including those related to administration and operations: Chief Kubojiri had nothing additional to report. In response to an inquiry of how activities such as parades, etc., have affected the department, Chief Kubojiri stated that they have not had much impact. The WaikiÒi festival is this weekend. The have had to hire special duty officers and increase regular on-duty personnel. The concert is advertised as Ðno alcoholÑ but from experience, it is not always so, and they are being prepared. They want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable time. Hopefully, people will comply with the rules of the concert. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Schutte moved to meet in executive session to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the HawaiÒi Police Department, to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety, 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 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the HawaiÒi County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Victorine seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 9:35 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 12: 37 p.m. ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS Complaint HPC 11-39: Complainant alleged that an officer arrested him for false reporting. He also alleged illegal activities around the island. Commissioner Horner moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainantÓs allegation of misconduct. Commissioner Schutte seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-11: Complainant alleged that he called the police for assistance in locating his wife, and an officer spoke of his wife in a nega Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainantÓs allegation of misconduct. The motion died without a second. Commissioner Victorine moved to refer the complainant to the Police Chief for customer service concerns as summarized in the complaint. Commissioner Horner seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-12: ComplainantÓs vehicle was stolen. She alleged lack of follow-up by officers. Vice Chair Ignacio moved to refer the complaint to the Police Chief for an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards. Commissioner Schutte seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 15, 2012 Page 5 Complaint HPC 12-13: ComplainantÓs wallet was stolen. She all suspect was let go, and there was lack of response from the officer. The complainant requested that the complaint be deferred in order for her to attend the meeting. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari moved to defer the complaint to the next meeting in Hilo. Commissioner Schutte seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-14: Complainant alleged that an officer took her to the hospital against her will. Complainant requested that the complaint be d her to attend the meeting. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari moved to d to the next meeting in Hilo. Vice Chair Ignacio seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-15: Complainant alleged that an officer used conduct and used his religion to threaten her beliefs. Vice Cha refer the complaint to the Police Chief for an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards. Commissioner Victorine seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-16: Complainant was involved in a traffic stop. He alleged that the officer told him there was a warrant for his arrest. He also alleged illegal activities around the island. Commissioner Horner moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainantÓs allegation of misconduct. Vice Chair Ignacio seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-17: Complainant alleged that since coming to Hilo, an officer has been responsible for destroying him, controlling him, and causin homeless. He also alleged that other officers are obedient robots. Commissioner Horner moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the c allegation of misconduct. Vice Chair Ignacio seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-18: Complainant went to court for a traffic citation. He alleged that an officer lied under oath regarding the posted speed limit sign. Commissioner Victorine moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove th allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Horner seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Complaint HPC 12-20: Complainant was involved in a traffic acc that an officer was rude and unprofessional. Commissioner Horner moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainantÓs allegation of misconduct. Commissioner PeÒa-Ferrari seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes June 15, 2012 Page 6 ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Ono announced that the Police CommissionÓs next monthly meeting will be on July 20, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., at the West HawaiÒi Civic Center, Building G Conference Room, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Collection of files and documents Î Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 12:52 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: KENNETH T. ONO, CHAIR