The public had its first opportunity Monday to testify about the four finalists to vying to become Hawaii County police chief and see them answer questions from the Police Commission in Hilo.
Commission Chairman John Bertsch recused himself from any further proceedings to choose the successor to Paul Ferreira, who retired Aug. 31 after six years as the department’s top cop. Bertsch explained that one applicant, Edward Ignacio, a retired FBI agent, is a close personal friend.
Earlier rounds of the commission’s selection process included considering all the written material about the applicants, who were identified by numbers only, without commissioners knowing who the applicants were.
Vice Chairman Thomas Brown, who asked questions of the four finalists, said some were submitted by the public. One of those questions inquired if the new police chief would return calls and other communications from the public.
“If I was selected as chief, I would be responsive,” said Hawaii Police Department Maj. Sherry Bird, the only finalist on the county’s police force. “I like to be present. I like to be approachable. … I want to be able to respond and get that right answer to the question. I might not know the answer right away, but I’m also not afraid to go and research and find what the answer is and try to get back to that person.”
Maj. Benjamin Moszkowicz of the Honolulu Police Department took a page from his experience in higher education.
“One of the things I learned from my professors is the importance of having office hours where the college professors will have time for the students to come in and ask questions and have a conversation. Why shouldn’t the chief of police?” he said. “That kind of a mind frame can collaborate and build partnerships, but it also goes a long way towards transparency.”
One of the questions involved “defunding” the police, a hot-button issue since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
“To me, it’s looking at what resources do we have, and where our money’s going. Is it being efficiently used?” Ignacio replied. “I don’t believe in defunding, per se, the word itself. I think everybody just wants accountability. … Are we addressing the proper threats in the community? Are we being responsive to what the community wants?”
Capt. Paul Applegate of the Kauai Police Department said the question implies a decrease in public trust of the police.
“What I plan to do if chosen as chief is immediately conduct an independent audit of the department … where our funding is going and how we spend it, what resources we have deployed and what training we need … and use this information to conduct a three-year strategic plan. And I would be open and transparent so the public knows where we’re headed as an organization and what goals we have,” he told commissioners.
Ignacio said excellence in the department is dependent upon leadership from the top.
“Leadership is what drives your culture,” he said. “The guys beneath you — all the way down from the top to the bottom — they want to see a leader that inspires then and also pushes them to do what is right. They want consistency.”
Bird said patrol officers are working 12-hour days as an “everyday occurrence” and added that chronic understaffing issues may require “rebranding of the department.” She said she helped raise three nieces, and two have chosen to enter the medical field because “they want to help people.” Bird suggested the department could do more to appeal to younger people who want to be of service.
“We are of service to people. We help people. So, why don’t we showcase that in our recruitment strategies?” she said.
Moszkowicz said law enforcement does “a really poor job of selling ourselves, sharing with the community what we do.”
“If you take a naysayer — and I’ve done this — someone who thinks the police department is lazy … and overfunded and isn’t doing their job and you bring them on a ride-along, by the end of the day, not only are they excited and they want to do it again, but you’ve changed their opinion. And that’s because they’ve gotten the opportunity to see what police officers really do,” he said.
Ideas shared by Applegate included having regular recruit classes in West Hawaii and giving first-responder status to dispatchers.
“They help deliver babies on the phone. They help with CPR over the phone. They are … honestly, first responders,” he said. “With that designation would go the salary commensurate with it. That would help with recruitment and retention.”
Mark Arnold, an HPD officer and at-large board director for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said the union “will not be endorsing any candidates.”
“However, we endorse you guys’ list, and we want to give you kudos for all the work you did in selecting the four best candidates. I don’t think if I picked the list myself, we could come up with better candidates,” Arnold told the commissioners. He then gave his personal endorsement to Applegate.
Moses Kaoiwi, a retired Hawaii National Guard brigadier general and former HPD detective, endorsed Ignacio but praised all the finalists.
“I appreciate them for having the courage to step out and put themselves in front of the public,” he said.
Patti Cook, a community leader in Waimea, praised Bird’s time as captain in charge of the South Kohala station and said she “would be an excellent chief.”
“She was … a team builder within the (station), a collaborate problem solver with the community. Her door was open, and she was willing to be very transparent about what was happening. We felt that she demonstrated integrity and knowledge and strength of character,” Cook said.
Former HPD officer Thomas Fratinardo said all of the candidates “are probably overqualified” and said he hoped Ignacio would be appointed with Bird as deputy chief or vice versa.
Fratinardo noted that two HPD officers, former detective Albert Pacheco and the late Kenneth Mathison, a sergeant, murdered their wives, Cathalene Pacheco in 2002 and Yvonne Mathison in 1992, respectively, while in the department.
Fratinardo, who was close to the Pachecos, said the department needs to “do whatever study they need to do, spend whatever money they need to spend, to prevent any other police officers from murdering their wives in Hawaii County.”
“I know we cannot read minds. It’s not like that … movie ‘Minority Report,’” he said. “But there are steps that we can take such as educating the lower rank-and-files and the sergeants and lieutenants insist that they attend training. Think out of the box.
“These are murders. It’s our culture. It’s avoidable. And in my opinion, it’s an epidemic.”
The commission will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. today at the council chambers in the West Hawaii Civic Center. The meeting is available on Zoom at https://bit.ly/3PlwfI6
The regular monthly commission meeting is 9 a.m. Friday in the Hilo council chambers, with “further consideration of the top candidates for police chief” on the agenda.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.