Officers given special duty should fulfill assigned tasks

Question: I have a complaint about two police officers hired by Hawaiian Memorial Cemetery for traffic control on Memorial Day. We were at the cemetery between 10:30 and 11 a.m. As we were leaving, we noticed a line of cars trying to get in and a line trying to get out. We had to be careful because of the traffic on the main road. Yet, the two officers just stood and talked the entire time, oblivious to what was happening. A friend who lives in Kaneohe told me traffic in and out of the cemetery remained bad in the afternoon. I asked him, “Were there two police officers standing on the corner?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “What were they doing?” and he said, “Nothing.” I called the cemetery and told them they should not pay the officers because they did nothing. When police are hired for traffic control and do nothing, what should be done?

Question: What is the process for assigning off-duty police officers to monitor construction projects? I recently saw a police escort on Kailua Road following a city truck spraying weeds. The next day, the same truck was parked, and there were two off-duty officers sitting in their cars. The same week at a construction site in Kailua town, traffic was backed up. Two off-duty officers there were not directing traffic, just standing in the shade. While I acknowledge our police officers are underpaid, these questionable deployments simply add unnecessary costs to the city budget. Most states use off-duty officers for extremely dangerous projects, not have them monitor a parked truck.

Answer: The Honolulu Police Department has a policy that addresses “Special Duty and Volunteer Police Service,” which is posted online along with the rest of HPD’s policies at honolulupd.org.

Click on “Information,” then on “HPD Policies.”

Certain venues and types of work require the hiring of special-duty officers, said HPD Capt. Joseph Trinidad, of the Major Events Division.

It is up to the hiring company to pay for their time and service, as well as to provide the list of required duties, such as traffic control or crowd management.

That said, “If it appears that an officer is not performing his or her assignment, the public should call 911 to report the behavior so a supervisor can be sent to the scene,” Trinidad said.

Separately, the vendor hiring the officer can contact the Special Duty Section to register a complaint regarding performance.

HPD’s policy regarding special-duty and voluntary police service runs 25 pages long and explains that eligibility for special-duty service “is a privilege” granted by the department.

Special duty primarily entails assignments “to maintain order, provide security, facilitate traffic flow, and take action against violations of the law.”

“Special duty” is provided by an off-duty officer acting in the capacity of a police officer, with payment coming from the employer hiring the services.

A “Special Duty Escort” is one that involves the use of official police vehicles, as well as officers, for which the requestor is obligated to also pay mileage fees.

Escorts are used when city or state transportation permits are required; for vehicular or pedestrian races, parades or other events in which street usage permits are required; for funerals; and when officers are required to drive subsidized vehicles with blue lights activated for visibility, such as when following a construction crew.

For information on how to hire special-duty officers and under what circumstances they can be hired, go to honolulupd.org and click on “Information,” then on “Hire a Special Duty Officer.”

Fees range from $36 to $51 an hour, depending on the officer’s rank and the circumstances under which they are hired.

Mahalo

With joy and gratitude to the kind and honest person who found my pink bag containing special equipment and my medical treatment log near the steps of the Saint Francis Medical Building in Liliha. May you be rewarded tenfold! — Grateful Cancer Patient

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