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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-21 Police Commission Regular Minutes HAWAII COUNTY POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES FEBRUARY 21, 2014 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI ST., HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair John Bertsch called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: John M. Bertsch, Chair Guy K. Schutte, Vice Chair Robert G. Gomes, Sr., Commissioner Carol R. Ignacio, Commissioner Keith T. Morioka, Commissioner Kenneth T. Ono, Commissioner Leroy J. Victorine, Commissioner Absent: Ka‘ili Pe‘a-Ferrari, Commissioner A quorum was present. Also Present: Paul Kealoha, Assistant Chief Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Kenneth Bugado, Captain Lincoln Ashida, Corporation Counsel Josie Pelayo, Secretary STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS – None. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Commissioner Victorine motioned to approve the agenda. Commissioner Morioka seconded, and it carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES December 20, 2013, regular and executive sessions. Vice Chair Schutte motioned to approve the minutes. Commissioner Ignacio seconded, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT ON DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES Crime report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Tavares reported that the crime trend in the Hilo and Puna area is high burglary counts. They are addressing this with community policing, the Special Enforcement Unit, surveillance, and running more traffic enforcement In Puna where burglaries are occurring. They are able to do this better in Puna because streets are in Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Minutes February 21, 2014 Page 2 arteries; HPP is an example. They email crime reports to neighborhood watches so they can be on the lookout and call them. They have had very good response from the community. Arrests have been made, but keeping people in jail is an issue. The Special Enforcement Unit conducts pawn shop checks regularly, and they have friendly working relationships. In Kona, the crime trend is homelessness and juveniles drinking in public. CPOs continue to work with the public and various county agencies. They also use bike patrols. Ka‘u has made some arrests, and CPO is monitoring. Traffic report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that traffic crashes, fatalities, DUI fatalities, and DUI arrests are down. The trends is an increase in Puna traffic accidents, especially in the morning because of the long snaked-traffic. Commissioner Ono stated that his observation is that people in Kona drive a lot faster than people in Kona. AC Tavares said the difference is that Kona has more roadways for speeding such as the Queen K, Kuakini, and Route 121 stretches. Hilo is more urban with limited areas for speeding. AC Kealoha stated that North and South Kona covers the area from the City of Refuge to Saddle Road. Kona has a lot of roadways for speeding. The Traffic Enforcement Units fall under one Major island-wide, so they are able to deploy people where they are needed. They work together and do not have boundaries. Commissioner Victorine pointed out that TEU also investigates traffic fatalities. AC Tavares said that takes a lot of man hours. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments. Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that with the new recruits on the road, their sworn vacancy is at 15. They are trying to start a new recruit class in July. The Chief is looking to fill critical positions with sergeant/detective promotions in April. They started the PO III recruitment. Within the next few years they will be looking at a high number of officers who will qualify for retirement. They are preparing for it with recruitments. They have 15 civilian vacancies. They filled 3 dispatch positions. Their criminalist will be retiring, and the position will be posted. CALEA personnel is going around to the districts checking on compliance issues and getting ready for mock exercises. The radio system upgrade went up for bid. They are looking to upgrade their CAD and records management system. Finance report of budget and expenditures. AC Kanehailua reported that overtime is creeping up, but that coincides with vacancies. They are in the budget process and will meet with the County’s Finance Committee in April. They trimmed as much as they could. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Minutes February 21, 2014 Page 3 Commendations of sworn and civilian employees. Deputy Chief Ferreira reported receiving 8 commendations involving 28 personnel since the last meeting. Other departmental activities. Regarding concerns about the use of the blue lights, AC Kanehailua reported that GO 807 covers this. They do in-service training and officers are tested and reminded on the use of the blue light. AC Tavares said there are occasions when an officer is permitted to turn his blue light off, but he would have to get permission from his supervisor. AC Kanehailua said officers are allowed to drive to and from work without the blue light on. This is especially noticeable around 10:00 p.m. when they get off. Chair Bertsch said there are concerns that officers are doing traffic stops without any blue lights on top. AC Tavares said the Traffic Enforcement Unit does not have blue lights on top of their car, but they have yellow movement lights inside the car. Per General Orders, an officer needs to get his supervisor’s permission to turn the blue light off. AC Kanehailua said they are upgrading to a bar light. AC Tavares reported that the Chief has requested that commanders have in-service training on subjects as telephone courtesy, report writing, etc. Chair Bertsch stated that they received a copy of a letter to the Chief concerning the distance the CPO in Papaikou has to cover. ACs Kanehailua and Tavares were not familiar with the letter and will respond to it at the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Discussion on Committee Assignments. Chair Bertsch stated that Ms. Pelayo informed him that they stopped putting committee reports on the agenda unless there is something to discuss. He thought the rules required them to have committees. Corporation Counsel Ashida said the rules permit them to have committees, but it is not required. They are allowed to have two commissioners assigned to a committee. Commissioner Ono said they used to have committees on the agenda, but they always had nothing to report. They found it beneficial to discuss items with the commission as a whole rather than two people discussing it initially. If a committee has something to discuss, they would bring it up with the Chair for agendizing. Chair Bertsch said he is comfortable with the status quo but wants the commissioners to think about it. He would like to leave this item on the agenda for next month if anyone has other thoughts. Update on State of Hawai‘i Police Commissioner’s Conference April 24-25, 2014. Chair Bertsch reported that Commissioner Schutte, Ms. Pelayo, and he met with personnel of the Waikoloa Beach Marriott. An agenda has been established. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Minutes February 21, 2014 Page 4 Commissioner Schutte will be the Master of Ceremonies. They are still filling the speakers and defining their content. He asked each commissioner to assist with various tasks. He would like to share and promote the Big Island and its products. INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINT HPC 13-48: Complainant Gregorio Uy alleged that when registering his firearms, records personnel involved the ATF agent. He accused the supervisor in charge of the records department. GREGORIO UY came before the commission. He stated that he hopes he is not discriminated against because he is Filipino. He gave a background history of himself and being a veteran. He questioned why they confiscate non-working guns and why the police involved the ATF agent. He was able to register all his guns, but when he tried to register the Tommy guns, they involved ATF. ATF told him he could hire a lawyer, submit what he thought was wrong, and obtain bonding which he does not want to do. He wants the Police Commission to convince ATF to return his guns. Chair Bertsch told Mr. Uy the commission has no jurisdiction with ATF. CAPTAIN RANDAL ISHII, supervisor in charge or the records department in Complaint HPC 13-48, came before the commission. He stated that when the clerk is not sure about a firearm, she would call him. When Mr. Uy came in, he was not there, so she called ATF Special Agent Horenburg who has an office in the Police Department. Special Agent Horenburg was not sure, so, he confiscated the firearms for examination. He has a report of the case. From the examination, they concluded the guns were replicas. Three were machine guns. Regular citizens are not allowed to register these firearms. They kept the three and returned the AK 47. They are replicas, but because they are so close to the original. They are classified as machine gun under the federal statutes. It is their procedure to involve ATF when there is a question. Vice Chair Schutte stated that anyone can buy parts by the millions on the internet to get guns working. The police department did the right thing. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that the federal government has exercised jurisdiction. He advised the county not take a position on what the federal government should and should not do. The commission’s jurisdiction is whether there was any misconduct on the part of Captain Ishii. Commissioner Victorine motioned to decline further investigation for three reasons, the complaint was not filed within 90 days of the incident, the complaint did not involve an element of misconduct, and the complaint is not within the commission’s jurisdiction. Commissioner Morioka seconded. Discussion: Commissioner Ono said they should decline with a single reason, that it is not within the commission’s jurisdiction. Hawai‘i Police Commission Regular Minutes February 21, 2014 Page 5 Commissioner Ono motioned to amend the original motion to decline further investigation because it is not within the commission’s jurisdiction. Commissioner Morioka seconded. The motion carried with a nay vote from Commissioner Gomes. REQUEST FOR LEGAL COUNSEL Correspondence 2014-01: Request for representation by Corporation Counsel for Officer Aaron Abalos in Civil No. 13-01-0647. Corporation Counsel Ashida stated that the officer was on duty, and they have a duty to represent. Vice Chair Schutte motioned to provide legal representation. Commissioner Ono seconded, and it carried unanimously. EXECUTIVE SESSION Commissioner Ignacio motioned 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 pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawai‘i County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Victorine seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 11:40 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 11:55 a.m. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chari Bertsch announced that the Police Commission’s next monthly meeting will be on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., in the Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi St., Hilo, Hawai‘i. Collection of files and documents. – Done. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 11:58 a.m. SUBMITTED: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED: JOHN M. BERTSCH, CHAIR