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Sunday, October 1, 2017

Two HPD Chief Nominees Sued: Cover up Manslaughter, Excessive Force

By Andrew Walden @ 8:46 PM :: 16598 Views
 

by Andrew Walden

A panel including loyalists of former HPD Chief Louis Kealoha on September 28, 2017 provided its recommendations for the next Honolulu Police Chief. 

Available information is scant on some nominees.  The candidates include:

  • Officers with ties to Kealoha—and others who left when Kealoha became Chief. 
  • A former officer who worked for Prosecutor Kaneshiro.
  • An officer accused in a civil suit of covering up a killing by a nephew of Chicago Mayor Daley.  (Scroll down for links highlighted in yellow.)
  • An officer accused of illegally destroying an excessive force report in Arlington, TX. (Scroll down for links highlighted in yellow.)

The panel included:

Former HPD chief Lee Donahue:

  • KHON Jan 6, 2017:  Former chief Lee Donohue led the Honolulu Police Department from 1998 to 2004. He says he’s not surprised that Chief Kealoha retired.  But Donohue says pressure from politicians forced the police commission to put Kealoha on the hot seat and eventually retire.  “Nowhere is there anything that says he did anything wrong, and we’re drumming this guy right out of office, so I just don’t think it was fair, handled fairly,” said Donohue.
  • Donahue Star-Adv Jan 7, 2017: “It was really unfair”

Former United States Attorney Flo Nakakuni. 

  • 2009 Obama Appointee
  • 2009: She thanked Hawai'i Sens. Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel Akaka "for their confidence in me" in submitting her name to the White House

Former Honolulu Managing Director Bob Fishman

Former Assistant Chief for HPD, Mark Nakagawa.

Assessment scores for finalists are:

  • Tommy Aiu, former federal agent                                 66.682
  • Kurt Kendro, retired HPD Major                                    60.639
  • Mark Lomax, retired Pennsylvania State Police Major     57.226
  • Paul Putzulu, retired HPD Acting Chief                          57.150
  • Susan Ballard, HPD Major                                            56.710
  • Kevin Lima, retired HPD Assistant Chief                        56.519
  • Jim Lowery, Arlington Police Assistant Chief                  55.730

The seven finalists include….

HPD Major Susan Ballard,

Former federal agent Tommy Aiu,

Former HPD Major Kurt Kendro,

Retired HPD Assistant Chief Kevin Lima,

One time interim HPD Chief Paul Putzulu,

Jim Lowery of the Arlington, Texas Police Department

Mark Lomax, Retired Pennsylvania State Police: 

Two candidates removed from consideration by the Police Commission based on the ‘Citizens Panel’ scoring:

Retired Chicago Police officer Gary Yamashiroya,

Kauai's Police Chief Darryl Perry,

(A reformer dragged down by the culture of retaliation on Kauai.)

 

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