The Kona Crime Prevention Committee saluted school resource Officer Wyattlane Nahale as Officer of the Month for June in a luncheon ceremony Wednesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee saluted school resource Officer Wyattlane Nahale as Officer of the Month for June in a luncheon ceremony Wednesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
Nahale was honored not only for his school resource work but also for extracurricular activities with students from elementary school through high school.
One of Nahale’s responsibilities is teaching DARE classes to students at Konawaena Middle School. He took the initiative to expand the anti-drug and anti-alcohol classes to area elementary schools, said Sgt. Floyd Cody Richardson, who nominated Nahale for the honor.
When Nahale is off the clock, he is the head junior varsity football coach at Konawaena High School and he conducts strength, speed and agility workouts for elementary- through high school-age students when football is not in season. According to Richardson, the purpose of those workouts is to keep students focused, in shape and out of trouble.
“He has at least 50 students who participate in his regularly scheduled workouts, and at least 15 are around the age of 5 years old,” Richardson said in nomination papers.
Because of Nahale’s contact with schools outside his assigned middle school — including participation in HI-PAL sporting events — administrators from high school and elementary schools contact him regularly for help with issues affecting students and their families.
“All of this, he does on his own time to give back to his community,” Richardson said.
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee is an organization that encourages community involvement in aiding and supporting police in West Hawaii.