The Hawaii County Police Commission gave interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna the permanent position on Friday, selecting him from a field of eight applicants.
The nearly 28-year veteran of the Hawaii Police Department has been serving as interim police chief since September. Born and raised on Hawaii island, Mahuna, 49, is the son of retired Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna, who led the department from 2002 through 2008.
“I am humbled and
honored by the Police
Commission’s decision. Serving as the Police Chief for Hawaii Island is an honor that I will never take for granted,” Mahuna told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement. “I look forward to continuing my work to support the men and women of this department, some of the best and most talented professionals anywhere. I will make sure to work every day to be the leader that they deserve.”
Mahuna has served as a major commanding East Hawaii Operations, overseeing the Criminal Investigation Division and the Technical Services Division, which includes the department’s Communications Dispatch Center, Communications Maintenance Section, Computer Center, Records and Identification Section, and Traffic Services Section.
Mahuna’s former assignments include serving as a field training officer in South Hilo, Traffic Enforcement Unit officer, Criminal Investigation Section detective, lieutenant in Puna and the East Hawaii Vice Section.
He also worked as captain of East and West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Divisions and Hamakua and South Hilo patrol.
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Mahuna earned a bachelor of arts degree in criminology and criminal justice from Lindenwood University, and an associate of science degree in administration of justice from Hawaii Community College.
The State of Hawaii
Organization of Police Officers’ State Board of Directors, in a statement Friday, congratulated Mahuna on his selection.
“With nearly thirty years of service to the Hawaii
Police Department, Chief
Mahuna has the experience and local knowledge needed to make positive changes that will modernize the Department and make our neighborhoods safer,” read the statement from SHOPO’s state leadership. “SHOPO is committed to working in partnership with Chief Mahuna to make the Hawaii
Police Department a place where officers are excited
to come to work to provide the high-quality police services that Hawaii residents deserve.”
The commission selected him after interviewing eight finalists in person during
an open session at the
West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona.
“I want to thank the Police Commission members for following a diligent and thoughtful process as they selected our next Chief of
Police,” Mayor Kimo Alameda said in a written
statement. “We look forward to continue working in partnership with law enforcement and our community to build a safer, stronger Hawaii Island for everyone.”
The commission received 27 applications for the position that met the minimum qualifications. The candidates were asked to complete a questionnaire as part of the vetting process, and commission members individually scored their answers.
Of the 22 candidates who responded to the questionnaire, the commission invited 11, based on their scores, to move forward to the interview round. Eight responded by the Jan. 20 deadline and were interviewed this week.
On Wednesday, in a
letter to police commissioners obtained by the Star-Advertiser, Cacique “CC” Melendez, SHOPO Hawaii Chapter Chair, wrote that the board supported Mahuna.
In addition, among the eight finalists for chief, Mahuna received “the most support from SHOPO members in a SHOPO survey fielded this week.”
“As the union that represents the frontline officers who patrol our roads and work in the community every day to keep our communities safe, we hope you give our members’ opinions the weight they deserve and have earned,” wrote Melendez, who included the results of the survey.
Before picking the next chief, Melendez urged commissioners to “step back and get a perspective on the true status” of the Hawaii Police Department.
“It’s a Department in the throes of a staffing crisis where veteran officers walk out the door faster than we can bring new officers in. We are surrounded by crumbling infrastructure, outdated and failing equipment, we’re unable to guarantee officers get the necessary training they need to keep their perishable skills sharp. Morale is low. Our bodies are tired. And our ears have tuned out the hollow sounds of false promises of better days,” wrote Melendez. “But we’re here. We love this department. We love our brothers and sisters that we work with. We love our community … we’re appealing to you because we want to get this department back on the right track.”
Mahuna replaced Ben Moszkowicz, a former Honolulu Police Department major, on an interim basis before being selected for the permanent position on Friday. Moszkowicz had been chief since January 2023.
The job opened up after Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi allegedly forced Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan to retire in June. When announcing Logan’s retirement, Blangiardi said he “strongly” recommended that Moszkowicz fill the interim role and become the next Honolulu chief. Moszkowicz subsequently submitted his resignation as Hawaii island police chief.
But the Office of the Mayor does not have authority to hire or fire the Honolulu police chief. The Honolulu Police Commission instead picked Rade K. Vanic to serve as interim chief and the Hawaii Police Commission later rejected Moszkowicz’s attempt to withdraw his resignation.
Logan filed a civil lawsuit in August against the city and the mayor alleging that Blangiardi forced him to retire by threatening to give Logan and his family a hard time. Blangiardi denies the allegation.
In October, a state judge removed Blangiardi from two of the three claims made by Logan. “Intentional infliction of emotional distress, against the Mayor in his individual capacity only,” was allowed to remain a part of the civil action, according to state court records.
A settlement conference in the case is scheduled for Feb. 22.