Posted at 11:19 a.m., Friday, November 9, 2001

SHOPO says officer shortage cause for lawsuit

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

The union that represents more than 1,900 police officers on O'ahu is threatening to sue the city and the Honolulu Police Department in what it says is a staffing shortage that is jeopardizing officer safety, according to a union member.

In a newsletter to O'ahu members, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers' Oahu Chapter Board has "approved the filing of a lawsuit against the City & County of Honolulu and the Honolulu Police Department for officer safety, which we believe, is a direct result of manpower shortage."

The lawsuit will be presented Wednesday to the state board for final approval, according to the letter that was issued yesterday and signed by Alexander Garcia, chairman of the Oahu Chapter Board of Directors.

Garcia refused to comment on the issue today. The Honolulu Police Department did not have immediate comment on the matter.

The Honolulu Police Department divides O'ahu into eight districts and, according to HPD's annual report, those districts are divided into 151 beats.

The letter suggests that beats are not fully staffed. The letter did not say whether public safety was in jeopardy or how long HPD was operating with the alleged officer shortage. SHOPO represents the ranks of lieutenants and below.

HPD had 2,459 employees last year, including 1,979 police officers, which amounted to 2.3 officers per 1,000 people on O'ahu, according to the department's annual report.