Detective backed for Big Island police chief

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — The youngest and most junior of the four candidates for Big Island police chief won most of the support at a public hearing last night.

Moses Kaoiwi, 36, a detective who investigates complaints against police for the internal affairs unit, was supported by more than half of the 16 speakers at the first of two Hawai'i County Police Commission public hearings on the selection of a new chief.

Support for Kaoiwi came from his pastor, fellow officers and neighborhood leaders who have worked with him in his role as a community policing officer.

Retired Hilo High principal Donna Saiki said her Leleiwi Community Association voted unanimously to support Kaoiwi. A nurse, Albert Gary Gardner, described Kaoiwi as having "unyielding integrity." Louis Fuka described Kaoiwi as "highly proactive."

Each of the four candidates made a five-minute presentation and every one of them won some support from among the audience of about 60 people.

Much of the testimony last night dealt with questions such as which candidate has the most integrity and could restore public confidence in the Police Department.

The other finalists, determined last week in a daylong commission meeting, are:

• Maj. Charles Chai, 51, who has spent more than 26 years in the department and served in a variety of positions before he was placed in charge of administrative affairs.
• Acting Chief Lawrence Mahuna, 52, a nearly 30-year veteran whose service has been mostly in West Hawai'i in Kona and Waimea. Mahuna was an assistant chief until August, when former Chief Jimmy Correa retired to take a much higher-paying federal position supervising security at the Hilo and Kona airports.
• Capt. Sam Thomas, 42, a 20-year veteran who was a detective and patrol lieutenant before becoming the administrator in charge of investigating allegations of police wrongdoing.

The Police Commission's choice will become the island's 11th chief and oversee a staff of 607, including civilians, and a department with a $34.8 million budget. Since Correa's retirement, the salary has been increased to $91,599 — $16,000 more than he'd received.

Thomas is Kaoiwi's supervisor in the Internal Affairs and intelligence unit. He told commissioners last week that he would be proud to serve under his subordinate, were Kaoiwi chosen for the post.

Kaoiwi also has served for nearly 20 years been with the Army National Guard, where he is a major assigned to operations and training.

The next hearing will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 29 at the Keauhou Beach Hotel in Kona. The final selection is to be announced Dec. 9