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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-12-20 Police Commission Minutes HAWAI‘I POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES DECEMBER 20, 2013 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI ST., HILO, HAWAI‘I CALL TO ORDER Chair Victorine called the meeting to order at 9:16 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: Leroy J. Victorine, Chair John M. Bertsch, Commissioner Robert G. Gomes, Sr., Commissioner Jeffrey T. Gray, Commissioner T. Ka‘ili Pe‘a-Ferrari, Commissioner Guy K. Schutte, Commissioner Absent: Carol R. Ignacio, Commissioner Keith T. Morioka, Commissioner Kenneth t. Ono, Commissioner Also Present: Harry Kubojiri, Police Chief Paul Ferreira, Deputy Chief Paul Kealoha, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Brian Prudencio, Detective Lincoln S. T. Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Schutte moved to approve the agenda. Commissioner Gray seconded, and it carried unanimously. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS - None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Schutte moved to approve the minutes of November 16, 2013, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari seconded, and it carried unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE (discussion/acceptance) Correspondence 2013-14: Annual Misconduct Report to the State Legislature from Police Chief Harry Kubojiri. Commissioner Schutte moved to accept and file the correspondence. Commissioner Bertsch seconded. Discussion: Commissioner Bertsch asked if 35 cases were for 35 separate officers and if the 6 terminations were for six different officers. Chief Kubojiri stated there were 35 cases opened. It could have one officer with multiple offenses at different times. He Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes December 20, 2013 Page 2 would have to review the data regarding the terminations. There is a link on their web page to this information. The motion to accept and file carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT ON DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES Including, but not limited to: Crime report by area, category, and trends. Captain Tavares reported that they continue to see a number of burglaries in the Kaumana and Waiakea area. Their Special Enforcement Unit has identified two different burglary rings. Most of these criminals are looking for prescription pills and ways to pay for their ice addiction. In Kona they have been having a problem with juveniles drinking in public parks and the homeless sleeping in vehicles. They are addressing these issues with an increase presence, including bike patrol. Commissioner Bertsch asked what constituted a burglary ring. AC Tavares stated that a burglary ring is a committed by groups of individuals, maybe three at a time. They enter a house in an organized effort. A couple could enter the house and other individuals would take the items to a pawn shop. Burglaries in Waiakea and Kaumana usually happen during the day where houses next to each other are unattended and access in and out is easy. Commissioner Bertsch asked about arresting people for being homeless. AC Kealoha stated that when people sleep in their cars, they try to create an environment that is not conducive for them. They have made arrests for drugs and issued some citations. Many have arrest warrants. In a previous meeting, he mentioned that if you Google Kailua-Kona, it shows that Kona is a good place to come to if you are homeless. Homelessness is a social issue. Commissioner Gray asked about procedures when people call in about squatters. Assistant Chief Tavares stated that squatters are a big problem in the Puna District. Even though neighbors call in, oftentimes the home ownership is in limbo, such as in foreclosures. It is difficult to determine who will come to court as the owner. The owner of the house could be Bank of America. Sometimes the squatters take better care of the house than the previous owner, and the bank is happy to have them there. The police cannot just go in and ask for proof of ownership. They are working with the Community Policing Officers, the Prosecutor, and Councilman Ilagan. Traffic report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that the fatality count is down. Trends show that Hilo has been having major accidents in intersections during peak traffic. They continue with speed enforcement in the Glenwood areas. South Kohala had two fatalities involving tractor trailers, one in Kawaihae and one on Saddle road. Both appeared to involve brake issues. They are working with the Department of Transportation on how they can increase safety. Runaway truck ramps are a consideration, but they require funds. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes December 20, 2013 Page 3 Regarding the DUI check points, Commissioner Gray felt they were ending it too early in the evening and suggested they run to later in the night. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments. Chief Kubojiri reported that as of December 31, they had 43 sworn vacancies. With the 26 recruits, it leaves them with 17 vacancies. They have 6 intergovernmental movements from Honolulu and Kauai. Several of them are on the road on an accelerated program, acquainting themselves with the Hawai‘i County Code and our communities. They are police officers who just came from another county. They start as POII and benefits are the same for all counties. They know ahead of time what they have to give up, but that’s their choice. So far, the vast majority of intergovernmental transfers have been good officers. They don’t have to spend that much time or money on intergovernmental transfers. They had 10 new positions, 5 for Ka’u and 5 for Puna. They will have to redo their lieutenant’s examination to establish a valid list so when they have retirements, they can fill the vacancies more expeditiously. They were disappointed with the results of the sergeant’s exam. They have 3 dispatcher vacancies. Dispatch has a high turnover. Oftentimes, the job is not what people expect. Recruit graduation will be on February 14, 10:30 a.m., at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. In response to a question from Commissioner Gomes, Chief Kubojiri stated that he will use the sergeant’s list to fill only the critical positions. He wants to do a retest to get a bigger pool of applicants. Some people are not good test takers, but they could be good leaders. On the flip side, some people who are good test takers could be not well respected. Finance report of budget and expenditures. Chief Kubojiri reported that they are pretty close to what they projected on the arbitrator’s award. The vacancies helped. He is not allowing people to cash out on their CTO. However, four people will be retiring at the end of the year, and he will have to payoff their entire CTO balance. Commendations of sworn and civilian employees. Chief Kubojiri reported having 8 commendations involving 17 personnel since the last commission meeting. Other departmental activities. Chief Kubojiri reported that the commissioner’s key cards are now only for identification purposes. As a security measure, it can no longer open doors to the police stations. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes December 20, 2013 Page 4 NEW BUSINESS State of Hawai‘i Police Commissioners’ Conference April 24-25, 2014. Chair Victorine asked Commissioners Schutte and Bertsch to work together to get the program going as soon as possible. Selection of Chair and Vice Chair of the Police Commission for 2014. Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari nominated Commissioner Bertsch as Chair and Commissioner Schutte as Vice Chair.Commissioner Gomes seconded the motion. Commissioner Schutte nominated Commissioner Victorine as Chair. A roll call vote for John Bertsch as Chair follows: Gomes: Yes Bertsch: Yes Victorine: Yes Schutte: Yes Pea-Ferrari: Yes Gray: Yes. A roll call vote for Leroy Victorine as Chair follows: Gomes: Yes John: No Victorine: Yes Schutte: Yes Pe‘a-Ferrari: No Gray: No The vote for John Bertsch as Chair carried unanimously. A roll call vote for Guy Schutte as Vice Chair carried unanimously. John Bertsch will be Chair and Guy Schutte will be Vice Chair in 2014. EXECUTIVE SESSION (Closed to the Public) Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari moved to meet in executive session to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities; to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the Hawai‘i Police Department; and to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety and pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Schutte seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:00 a.m. Open session reconvened at 11:03 a.m. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes December 20, 2013 Page 5 INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINT Complaint HPC 13-50: COMPLAINANT JOHN SCANLON complained about the manner in which a helicopter was flown during a marijuana eradication operation. He came before the commission and requested to be heard in open session. He stated that his concern is when one of these helicopters crash. He started to read his written complaint but then skipped over it. He stated that after the incident he went to out and flagged the van, but it drove on by. He called the police, and was told to call Lt. Farias. He called three times but the Lieutenant did not call him back. His complaint is that nothing was brought back to him. He made a complaint about the manner in which they were flying the helicopter. He eventually got somebody at the State and learned that it was contract pilot. The spotter is a State narcotics officer. If they continue to fly like this over populated areas, a crash will happen, and that is why he brought this to the commission. He doesn’t think there should be discipline, just additional training and coordination. It looked like the guy was flying in a combat zone, but it was in a residential area. The State does not have a complaint process. There needs to be some kind of connection between the County and the State. The County is incurring liability. He doesn’t want anybody to get hurt. (Scanlon exited.) EXECUTIVE SESSION (Closed to the Public) Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari moved to meet in executive session to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities; to consider discipline and charges against officers or employees of the Hawai‘i Police Department; and to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety and pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Gomes seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:16 a.m. Open session reconvened at 11:54 a.m. ACTION BY THE COMMISSION Investigation of Complaints HPC 13-43: Complainant complained about being arrested and that the officer threatened her by saying she would be watching her. Commissioner Schutte moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant’s allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Gomes seconded, and it carried unanimously. HPC 13-47: Complainant was issued citations and that the officer threatened to arrest him. Commissioner Schutte moved that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant’s allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari seconded, and it carried unanimously. HPC 13-50: Complainant complained about the manner in which a helicopter was flown during a marijuana eradication operation. Commissioner Schutte moved to exonerate the officer and to refer the complaint to the Police Chief for Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Session Minutes December 20, 2013 Page 6 further investigation. Commissioner Gomes seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Lunch recess was called at 12:02 a.m.The meeting reconvened at 12:50 p.m. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Gray moved to meet in executive session to consult with Corporation Counsel on questions and issues pertaining to the commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities and to conduct and annual evaluation of the Police Chief pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Pe‘a-Ferrari seconded, and it carried unanimously. Open session reconvened at 2:40 p.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Victorine announced that the Police Commission’s next monthly meeting would be on Friday, January 17, 2014, 9:00 a.m., in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Building G Conference Room, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i. Collection of files and documents. – Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:41 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: LEROY J. VICTORINE, CHAIR