The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2014-09-19 Police Commission Regular MinutesHAWAII POLICE COMMISSION REGULAR SESSION MINUTES SEPTEMBER 19, 2014 AUPUNI CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM 101 PAUAHI ST., HILO, HAWAII CALL TO ORDER Chair Bertsch called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. ROLL CALL Present: John M. Bertsch, Chair Guy K. Schutte, Vice Chair Robert G. Gomes, Commissioner Keith T. Morioka, Commissioner Kenneth T. Ono, Commissioner Leroy J. Victorine, Commissioner Absent: Karolyn P. Lundkvist, Commissioner Peter L. Hendricks, Commissioner Also Present: Marshall Kanehailua, Assistant Chief Paul Kealoha, Assistant Chief Henry Tavares, Assistant Chief Paul Bugado, Captain Katherine Garson, Deputy 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 Vice Chair Schutte motioned to approve the minutes of August 22, 2014, regular and executive sessions. Commissioner Victorine seconded, and it carried unanimously. POLICE CHIEF'S REPORT ON DEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES Including, but not limited to: • Crime report by area, category, and trends: Assistant Chief Tavares reported that up to August 31, they had 1,572 serious crimes. The Criminal Investigation Units investigated 303 of these cases. The department received 8,893 calls for service, 2,591 for criminal/traffic and 6,302 for miscellaneous assistance. The crime trend for Area I is that burglaries continue to be an issue in the Hilo and Puna districts. The Burglary Unit was expanded, and they are working with CPOs, the Special Enforcement Unit, patrol, and the prosecutor. There are a small number of individuals Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes September 19, 2014 Page 2 committing a large number of burglaries. When these individuals are in jail, the numbers drop. In Kona, they had complaints of juveniles drinking in public and people camping in public parks. They are addressing this with CPOs, bike patrols, the Crime Reduction Unit, working with public, attending CHIRP and community meetings. Ka'u auto thefts continue, and it is being addressed with police presence. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that they were served with an ACLU complaint that the county's ordinance on aggressive panhandling is a violation of civil rights. Enforcement of the ordinances is on hold. Homelessness is not a crime, but urinating in public and public drunkenness is. The prosecutor is looking into updating the laws. Commissioner Gomes expressed concern about homelessness in Ka'u. AC Kealoha stated that Ka'u has people occupying residences that they do not own, Traffic report by area, category, and trends. Assistant Chief Kealoha reported that traffic crashes are up. They had one traffic fatality. For the month of August, 4,360 citations were issued: 3,002 moving/regulatory, 345 seat belt, 34 child restraint, and 979 speeding. There were no traffic trends in any of the districts. They continue to use their stealth unit to monitor traffic. It helps to validate complaints. Chair Bertsch extended his thanks to all commanders for a job well done. Personnel report on vacancies, recruitment, training, promotions, reallocations, severance from service, and work assignments. Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported having 28 sworn vacancies; 14 are in recruit class. They are aggressively trying to meet the deadline for the next recruit class. They plan to overlap with the current class. They are in the process of doing the sergeant's exam. The reading list was given out and officers have a month to prepare. They will also be doing promotions for lieutenants. They have 29 civilian vacancies. They have vacancies for Accountant IV, HR Specialist, IT, and Dispatchers. Filling vacancies without an HR Specialist is a problem. • Finance report of budget and expenditures: Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported that their CID costs are high due to overtime for Tropical Storm Iselle. • Commendations of sworn and civilian employees. Assistant Chief Kanehailua reported receiving 6 commendations involving 34 personnel. Other departmental activities: AC Kanehailua reported that they will be staffing the Emergency Operations Center in Pahoa. AC Tavares briefed the commission on the lava flow. They are confident they will provide the same or increased level of safety for the Puna community. For now, the Pahoa police station is safe. They plan to move to the Kea`au station and old courthouse if it is needed. They are looking into working 12 -hour schedules and moving the blue and whites in from other district a couple of days before the lava crosses. Once Highway 130 is covered, they will focus Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes September 19, 2014 Page 3 on Railroad Avenue. Taking Pahoa students to Kea`au could create chaos. They could move their SROs to Kea'au. The incident commander will be the district captain. Officer backup will be an issue. AC Tavares reported on an incident at Honokaa School where students had to be evacuated due to an odor from a homeowner spraying Diazinon on a windy day. Recess was called at 10:08 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 10:23 a.m. (EXECUTIVE SESSION) INVESTIGATION AND DELIBERATION OF COMPLAINTS Commissioner Morioka 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 Hawaii Police Department; and to consider sensitive matters relating to public safety pursuant to HRS 92-5 (a) (2) (4) (6) and the Hawaii County Charter Section 13-20 (b). Commissioner Victorine seconded, and it carried unanimously. Executive session convened at 10:24 a.m. Regular session reconvened at 1:04 p.m. ACTION ON COMPLAINTS • HPC 14-17: Complainant alleged that an officer would not come into his house to talk to him and then got angry with him. Vice Chair Schutte motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Ono seconded, and it carried unanimously. • HPC 14-24: Complainant writes of many issues that concern him. Vice Chair Schutte motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Morioka seconded, and it carried unanimously. • HPC 14-18: Complainant alleged that an officer scream at her. Vice Chair Schutte motioned to defer the complaint to the next meeting in Hilo. Commissioner Morioka seconded, and it carried unanimously. • HPC 14-19: Complainant alleged that the handcuffs cut the circulation to his wrist. Vice Chair Schutte motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Ono seconded, and it carried unanimously. • HPC 14-20: Complainant complained that her Hawaiian Kingdom driver's license was not accepted as a form of identification when she requested police reports. Commissioner Morioka motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Vice Chair Schutte seconded, and it carried unanimously. Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes September 19, 2014 Page 4 • HPC 14-25: Complainant alleged that her numerous phone calls and messages were not returned. Vice Chair Schutte motioned that there was insufficient evidence to prove the complainant's allegations of misconduct. Commissioner Ono seconded, and it carried unanimously. HPC 14-21: Complainant alleged that an officer sympathized with another party and was displeased with how officers handled her situation. Vice Chair Schutte motioned to defer the complaint to the next meeting in Hilo. Commissioner Gomes seconded, and it carried unanimously. HPC 14-22: Complainant alleged that an officer minimized the assault on her, did not show her courtesy, and did not contact her to follow-up on the status of her case. Vice Chair Schutte motioned to defer the complaint to the next meeting which will be in Kona. Commissioner Gomes seconded, and it carried unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS • Chair Bertsch announced that the Police Commission's next monthly meeting will be on Wednesday, October 15, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., at the West Hawaii Civic Center, Building G Conference Room, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. • Collection of files and documents (done). ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m. SUBMITTED BY: JOSIE PELAYO, SECRETARY APPROVED BY: JOHN M. BERTSCH, CHAIR