HPD to aid outer islands in attack
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu could be "very much a target" of a terrorist attack, Police Chief Lee Donohue said yesterday at a police briefing on the state of Hawai'i's homeland security.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
But Honolulu police are better equipped to respond to such an attack than most cities in the country, and are prepared to airlift a mobile command center and specially equipped officers anywhere in the state if a Neighbor Island is attacked, he said.
Assistant Police Chief Boisse Correa briefs reporters on the different protective suits police officers would wear in the event of an attack.
Isolated in the middle of the Pacific, Hawai'i also lacks a state police force or highway patrol that could assist local jurisdictions, the chief said. "Who do we have to call upon?" Donohue said. "We have to call upon ourselves, so we must be prepared."
Honolulu has spent about $4 million to equip some officers with protective suits to be used in the event of a biological, nuclear or chemical attack, the chief said.
But the department needs at least another $4 million to make sure all 2,000 officers and many civilian employees have necessary gear, he said.
Donohue and Big Island Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna said Neighbor Island police departments' efforts to gear up for counterterrorism have been severely hampered by a lack of money.
Mahuna said the Big Island needs at least $3 million for equipment, and that amount should be doubled to reduce response time on an island where an emergency can be 2 1/2 hours away by road. That means Neighbor Island departments could need help from Honolulu.
"If something happens on any of the outer islands, we are going to have to go," said Donohue's counterterrorism coordinator, Assistant Police Chief Boisse Correa. "We are the big kid on the block."
The department's special services unit, and its bomb squad, both have been augmented with robots that can enter buildings, sniff for dangerous substances and eavesdrop on suspects.
The department wants more than 2,000 Level C suits at $630 each, significant numbers of the $5,100 scuba-equipped Level B suits and a limited number of astronaut-style Level A suits at more than $20,000 each, he said.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
