Posted at 6:27 p.m., Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Kona police officers honored
Advertiser Staff
The Hawai'i State Law Enforcement Officials Association this month named Kona police Det. Gerald Wike as the Hawaii Police Department's "Officer of the Year."The Kona Crime Prevention Committee named Vice Officer Edwin Buyten as "Officer of the Year."
Lt. Randal Ishii, Wike's supervisor in Kona's Juvenile Aid Section, nominated Wike for work that led to the resolution of many serious felonies. In one case, while investigating an auto theft involving two teenage boys, $102,000 in stolen goods were found. The thefts triggered eight felony investigations. Ishii said that as a result of Wike's diligence, all of the items were returned to their owners, Wike obtained confessions from the youths and both of them were sent to a detention facility on O'ahu.
Wike also teaches at Project IMPACT (Incorporated Measures to Prevent Alcohol Consumption by Teenagers) each month at the Kona police station.
Buyten, who works in the Kona vice section and is also a narcotics canine handler, was chosen from among all of the "Officer of the Month" recipients during the 2005-2006 fiscal year. He was the only officer named "Officer of the Month" twice during that period.
Capt. Robert Hickcox, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division in Kona, said Buyten is highly motivated and conscientious as both a canine handler and in initiating narcotics investigations.
