Newswatch
Police Chief
Michael Nakamura
ÒMaybe sometime in '97, but I haven't made up my mind yet,Ó he said, referring to retirement plans. ÒI would like to work into '97.
A 26-year HPD veteran who was named chief in August 1990, Nakamura would begin his 27th year with the department on Jan. 27.
ÒI feel good about the department and it's a good time to go,Ó said Nakamura, 49. ÒWe have direction and we have a mission and value statement. I feel we are in good shape.
ÒWhen I became chief, I never looked at the position as a permanent slot,Ó he added.
His leg and shoulder muscles have been weakened by a chronic neuromuscular condition, but Nakamura insists that it is not the reason he's contemplating retirement.
ÒHealth is not a concern,Ó he said.
Two subordinates told the commission they felt threatened when the manager said they would be placed on a list if they refused.
Ethics Commission Executive Director Daniel Mollway says the case is an example of a situation that should be avoided, as the state enters another election season.
The incident happened during the 1992 election season; the manager no longer works for the state.
Next month, the commission will circulate among state offices 25,000 copies of its two-page campaign ethics guidelines for public officials and employees.
By Star-Bulletin staff
Jamie Lee Veal Jr., 18, of Makaha, appeared in court today to face a second-degree murder charge in the death of Hansen Kaawa, 18, during an affray at Nanakuli Beach Park late Friday. Veal was being held on $100,000 bail.
According to an affidavit, a friend told police he saw Veal attempting to conceal a knife in his right hand and saw him struggling with a male later identified as Kaawa. The friend saw Kaawa suddenly double over in pain and later collapse.
Dr. Bani H. Win of the city medical examiner's office determined that Kaawa died of a stab wound to the chest with injuries to the heart.
Police arrested Veal on Monday after he said he armed himself with a pocketknife taken from a nearby campsite and used it to defend himself, according to the affidavit.
The document says Veal told police he was involved in a confrontation earlier Friday evening with a group of males who assaulted him, one of them striking him in the face. He managed to escape to a relative's campsite 200 yards away.
He grabbed a relative's pocketknife and headed back to the park to look for his relatives and friends when the same group of males attacked him again. He told police he swung the knife toward one of the males who was holding and hitting him.
He said he threw the knife in some brush as he ran back to the campsite. Tests are being done on a knife found 70 yards from the stabbing.