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Correa named
permanent
Big Island
police chief

The decision comes after
controversy over the hiring process

---

By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

The Hawaii County police commission named acting police chief James Correa as the new permanent police chief at a meeting in Kona today.

The two finalists for the job, Correa and Honolulu Police Major Robert Prasser, were both at the meeting.

After the vote, Prasser congratulated Correa and said that the commission had made a good selection.

Correa said he was thinking of making some changes in the department but will not do so right away and declined to be specific about his plans.

"I don't always make changes as a matter of change. I'm very analytical," he said.

The commission first voted on whether to select Prasser as chief, but the motion was defeated in a 2 to 5 vote. The commission then voted on Correa who was selected in a 6 to1 vote.

The vote for a new police chief came at about 1 p.m. during a meeting held in the Resolution room of the Royal Kona Resort. The meeting began at 10 a.m. and the commission took public testimony on the two finalists for chief in addition to conducting other business. It was the fourth meeting at which the commission had heard public testimony on the finalists.

In the early part of the selection process, the commission had been criticized for being too secretive in the way they were conducting the search for a new chief.

New mayor Harry Kim was among those who urged the commission to be more open in its decision-making and not to rush the process.

Former police chief Wayne Carvalho retired in October after 31-years of service.

Carvalho said that he was retiring to pursue business opportunities, possibly a restaurant in Los Angeles.

In December 1999, a jury found Carvalho helped others cheat on department promotions while he was deputy chief in the 1980s and he had been under pressure to resign his post.