New chief’s straight talk a remarkable change for HPD

Something amazing happened over the weekend. The Honolulu Police Chief held a press conference. It shouldn’t seem like a remarkable thing, but it does seem like a remarkable thing. It’s been a while since we’ve had a police chief who would stand in front of reporters and cameras and answer questions with a measure of candor.

Chief Susan Ballard stood on the lanai of the main police station rather than make all the journalists go through security and tromp inside to a more formal conference room. She read from a prepared statement and then answered follow-up questions about a fatal traffic accident over the weekend in which an on-duty police officer struck a 57-year-old man who ran into traffic on the H-1 freeway.

Not just the fact of the press conference was notable, but so was the tone. It was informational rather than defensive. Ballard stayed “on message” without resorting to canned talking points or awkward dodges. She answered the looming, obvious question without any sign of annoyance:

“There is no difference as far as the investigation is concerned, so that’s why his car was taken. We’ll review the black box, do a complete investigation as we would with anybody else in the public.”

Well, of course the chief is going to say that, but it makes a difference that the chief actually said it rather than released a carefully crafted statement online.

One of the overused catchphrases of our time is “transparency,” which has come to mean a thousand different things from itemizing lunch receipts to releasing genealogy charts showing every living second and third cousin. But at the core of this quest is the desire for community leaders to talk straight, answer questions, come out from behind the desk and look folks in the eye.

At last week’s Quarterly Awards Ceremony, Ballard’s first as chief, she presented each certificate and medal, shook each hand and then was called upon to deliver remarks to the crowd. Rather than look out toward the audience in general, Ballard looked directly at the officers who were being honored that day. It was like when a graduation speaker talks to the graduating students instead of the parents or the faculty — an emphasis on who the day was for and what the work is about. Ballard spoke, without notes, about the officers’ service and sacrifice, not her own recent rise to the top, and she talked about how proud she was to work with such dedicated people, not how great stuff was going to be now that she’s the boss. That phrase “work with” — it was subtle but noticeable, a mark of service-leadership and teamwork rather than politics, personality or self-promotion.

It’s so early in Ballard’s tenure, and in a profession like law enforcement, there is a chance to sink or swim every single day. We’ve been watching a good deal of sinking in the last year. It’s important to note when things are starting to seem different.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.