Four left in search for chief of police

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

The list of candidates to replace retired Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue has been narrowed to four.

The candidates remaining are: Deputy Chief Glen Kajiyama, 48; Assistant Chief Boisse Correa, 58; Maj. Donna Andersen, 58, head of the Internal Affairs Division; and Maj. Susan Ballard, 47, of District 5.

Each has at least 18 years of experience as a Honolulu police officer; one has been on the force more than 30 years. Before the cut, nine candidates were in the running to be Honolulu's next top cop.

A woman has never been chief of police in Honolulu.

The next step in the selection process is a psychological evaluation.

Starting tomorrow, each candidate will undergo a battery of psychological tests including oral interviews. One-on-one interviews with each finalist will be conducted Aug. 23 and 24. Commission members hope to have a chief in place by the end of August.

The list was cut after outside consultant Terry Eisenberg, hired to help with the search, delivered the results of an assessment conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. Eisenberg and a group of community members assessed each candidate's performance in a series of exercises..

On July 21, the Honolulu Police Commission accepted a list of seven community members from which three were picked to act as assessors. The three community members paired with one Mainland law enforcement expert, selected by Eisenberg, to form the outside assessment group.

"The commission made its decision based on the selection process we're involved with," said commission chairman Ron Taketa.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8810.