Honolulu Police Commission hires firm to find next HPD chief

The Honolulu Police Commission has entered into a $121,900 contract with an executive search firm from California as part of the ongoing effort to hire the city’s 13th police chief.

The contractor was hired more than six months after Honolulu Police Department Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan was forced out by Mayor Rick Blangiardi on June 2. Interim Chief Rade Vanic has led the department since Logan’s ouster.

Blangiardi tried unsuccessfully to hire then-Hawaii Police Department Chief Ben Moszkowicz, a former Honolulu police major, to fill the interim role and become the next chief.

Police commissioners on Oahu and Hawaii island rejected the the mayor’s move, leaving Moszkowicz out of work and Blangiardi facing a civil lawsuit from Logan.

Logan filed the lawsuit in August, accusing Blangiardi of forcing him to retire by threatening to “make it very difficult” for him and his family if he refused to step down.

In October, a state judge removed Blangiardi from two of the three claims made by Logan, according to state court records. Allegations that violations of the Hawaii Whistleblower Protection Act were made and that Logan’s termination was in “violation of public policy” remain against the city only.

“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.

Logan’s attorney, Joseph T. Rosenbaum, did not reply to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for comment. A settlement conference in the case is scheduled for Feb. 22.

On Tuesday, commissioners announced the hiring of Public Sector Search &Consulting Inc., a Rocklin, Calif.-based firm that bills itself as “the only search firm in the U.S. to focus exclusively on recruiting police executives.”

“We are experts in police chief recruitments,” according to the company’s website.

The firm’s work starts immediately with outreach to community members, stakeholders and partner organizations to figure out what people want in the next HPD chief, a process that will take about three months, officials said.

Surveys of uniformed and civilian personnel and the community also will be conducted.

“It is important to the commission that we mount a professionally managed and inclusive process for this critical public safety role,” Police Commission Chair Ken Silva, a former Honolulu Fire Department chief, said in a statement. “We want to hear from all communities who rely on HPD to keep their neighborhoods safe. We also want to hear from our civilian and sworn workforce and agencies who work alongside HPD so that we can develop a comprehensive profile of desired experience and traits for the person who will lead HPD over the next five years.”

The police commission also hired a search firm to find the finalists that led to the selection of Logan on May 23, 2022. It took almost a year to hire Logan who was selected with a unanimous vote by the commission from four finalists.

The other three were Moszkowicz; then-HPD Maj. Mike Lambert, now director of the state Department of Law Enforcement; and retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. Scott Ebner.

Blangiardi would like the mayor’s office to hire and manage the personnel decisions regarding the leadership of HPD and the Honolulu Fire Department.

HPD and HFD are the two city departments that rely on commissions to pick their leaders.

The Board of Water Supply and the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation are semiautonomous and handle their own hiring.

Blangiardi plans to introduce a city charter amendment to transfer the authority from the police and fire commissions to the office of the mayor.

The current organizational structure has the chief reporting to the managing director, who reports to the mayor.

Source – Indonesia News