Police commission
is criticized

The Big Isle oversight body’s
leader agrees training
is inadequate

HILO » Hawaii County police commissioners cannot do their jobs correctly because they get no training in their proper functions, says former commissioner Paul de Silva.

During a recent speech to the Big Island Press Club, de Silva cited controversial events last year and accused some commissioners of a "social club mentality" in which they avoid criticizing each other on such occasions.

In response, last year's commission Chairman Horace Hara denied the "social club" accusation, but he and county attorney Lincoln Ashida agreed that more training is needed.

A former prosecutor and judge, de Silva resigned from the volunteer police-oversight body last year during a recess in an ongoing meeting.

"I left it because I just couldn't take it anymore," he said Friday.

He cited three events last year.

» A commissioner used his badge to stop a bad driver, which commissioners are not authorized to do. In response, Chief Lawrence Mahuna ordered all commissioners to turn in their badges.

» Another commissioner lobbied for a new police station near the hotel he owns, a possible conflict of interest. The county Ethics Commission cleared him of wrongdoing.

» Two commissioners sat in on a closed-door disciplinary proceeding for an officer, a violation of a police union contract. The union filed a complaint, still pending, with the state labor board.

County attorney Ashida agreed with de Silva about training.

"He's right. There has not been adequate or sufficient training in the past," Ashida said. But he has increased training to about 38 hours throughout the year.

De Silva illustrated his "social club" comment with a statement from a commissioner who told him, "If you're not here to support the other commissioners, then you don't belong on the Police Commission."

Commissioner Hara countered: "We had a lot of debates and disagreements. It's not buddy-buddy."

De Silva seems to favor a "watchdog" attitude toward the department, even an adversarial one, Hara said. "I don't see us as being a watchdog," he said.

To get more professional oversight of their police departments, some mainland jurisdictions have replaced commissions with a paid official whose job is to look into all aspects of police operations at any time, de Silva said.

But creating such a post in Hawaii County would require a change in the county charter, while additional training requires no change in the law.