More than 30 apply for Honolulu police chief opening

The Honolulu Police Commission said late this afternoon that it had received 38 applications for police chief, roughly 25 to 30 percent of them from out-of-state candidates.

The panel said in a news release earlier today it had received between 30-35 applications.

The vacancy was created when former Police Chief Louis Kealoha retired, effective March 1, after federal officials informed him he was a target in a criminal case.

The next step for the applicants will be a written examination based on a test that’s to be formulated by a paid consultant with assistance from “various law enforcement and community stakeholders,” the release said.

From there, based on the written exam, applicants who qualify will proceed to an “assessment center” developed by the consultant. A small group of assessors will score the applicants on their performance in the assessment center. Those assessors are to be picked by the commission and consist of “a diverse group of individuals who will receive training from the commission’s consultant prior to starting the assessment,” the release said.

The commissioners will then select a list of finalists from those who participated in the assessment center based on a combination of their written test and assessment center scores.

The finalists will be interviewed by the commission and will be subject to background checks an psychological evaluations.