Kauai selects new police chief
LIHUE » Darryl Perry, with 25 years of service in the Kauai and Honolulu police departments, has been named the newest chief on the Garden Isle, pending the results of a physical.
Perry, 57, of Mililani, will replace the interim chief, Clayton Arinaga, the only sworn officer left over from his days at the KPD in the 1970s. Perry expects to start Oct. 1.
"I'm looking forward to getting over there and working with the guys and gals," Perry said yesterday. "It's all new faces."
A retired Honolulu police major, Perry was born and raised on Kauai and is a 1968 Kauai High School graduate. And the new job will bring him back home, where his sister and brother still live. In fact, he will be staying with his sister, Dardinele Kaauwai, until he and his wife can find other accommodations.
He said he is excited about taking over the top cop spot for the 120-member force, which has seen its share of controversy in the chief's office.
"What I want to do is to go back to the basics," he said yesterday, "to bring the department together."
Perry has kept an eye on the police force for the past few years, especially after being the runner-up for the chief's job in 2004. He has written a number of editorials to the local newspaper regarding the department.
"My style is not to come in and say 'my way or the highway,'" Perry added. "I plan to adapt myself to the rhythm of the Kauai Police Department."
He also said he has plans to increase morale and teamwork, two areas cited when Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste and the police union, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, asked for predecessor K.C. Lum's resignation in 2006.
Lum eventually retired after battling with the mayor, the union and the Kauai County Council. His lawsuit against the county for civil rights violations is still pending.
But Perry said KPD is a "good department" and has the opportunity to become a great department.
As for what the public can expect from the chief, Perry said, "They're going to know me as a fair individual, an open individual."
Perry retired as a major from the Honolulu Police Department after a 22-year stretch. He spent 3 1/2 years at KPD, from 1976 until 1980, but moved back to Honolulu to finish his bachelor's degree and, eventually, his master's. After retiring, he spent two years at the state attorney general's office, and he is currently an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Honolulu Community College.