Question: I’m sending a big auwe to that mean-spirited, vindictive police officer who bullied a law-abiding motorist during a traffic stop.
Answer: Although you didn’t include a question in your call, we checked with the Honolulu Police Department to ask how a motorist should respond in such a situation.
Capt. Rade Vanic of the chief’s office said that if a person feels that they were mistreated by an officer or that the officer acted in an unprofessional manner, he or she can ask to speak to the officer’s supervisor. It is important to get the officer’s name and badge number, and officers are required to provide this information when asked, Vanic said.
The person also can ask the officer to have a supervisor sent to the scene, call the nearest police station or call 911 and ask to speak to a supervisor.
If the person wants to make a formal complaint for an incident involving an on-duty officer or an officer acting in an official capacity (for example, special duty), he or she can contact the Honolulu Police Commission, Vanic said.
The phone number for the Police Commission is 723-7580. Its website, which includes a link to the complaint form, is at 808ne.ws/2fjwIbE.
For an incident involving an off-duty officer who is not acting in an official capacity (for example, an off-duty officer who gets into a fight), the person should contact the Professional Standards Office, he said. The phone number is 723-3775.
Q: Do NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores include private schools?
A: Yes and no. National results of the standardized test known as the Nation’s Report Card are based on a representative sample of students in public and private schools, but the state-level results are valid only for public school students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Stephaan Harris, a public affairs specialist for the National Assessment Governing Board, confirmed that there’s no way to break out the performance of private-school students in individual states because the sample at that level is representative only for public schools.
Read more about Hawaii’s public-school results at 808ne.ws/2epyJpn.
Q: You printed the number to call for roadside memorials on Oahu, but what about the other islands? We get them, too, and they get bigger and bigger, to the point that they become a safety hazard and an eyesore.
A: To report roadside memorials that have been left longer than 30 days on state property, call the state Department of Transportation’s maintenance sections, said Shelly Kunishige, a DOT spokeswoman.
The number is 933-8878 on Hawaii island, 873-3535 on Maui, 241-3000 on Kauai and, as we reported previously, 831-6714 on Oahu. Once the greeting picks up, follow the voice prompts to report maintenance issues.
People who leave mementos where others died in traffic crashes are supposed to remove the items. Call for government help only after family or friends of the deceased have failed to do so.
Auwe
Auwe to the taggers who obliterated the serene art on the wall adjacent to the Voyager Public Charter School fronting the H-1 freeway. In life we all make choices. How sad you chose to use your amazing artistic talent so destructively. But you can go the opposite direction, clean up your mischief and replace it with something commuters can enjoy and appreciate. I know my comments are falling on deaf ears, but I thought I’d give it a shot anyway. — Genesis
Mahalo
I had just finished breakfast with my mom at Zippy’s in Kailua when I discovered a couple of ladies had anonymously left our waitress $20 for our tab. I hope they read this column as it’s my only means of thanking them for their generous act of kindness. Mahalo nui loa and God bless you! Me kealoha pumehana. — Rod and Nora in Kailua
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
