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Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s two newest nominees to the Honolulu Police Commission say they support some measure of police reform but also stress that they value the work of police officers.
Meanwhile, Caldwell said he’s not in favor of defunding the Honolulu Police Department and redirecting funds to social service areas, but in fact wants HPD to get more funding.
Defunding of law enforcement agencies is a discussion that’s taking place nationally in the wake of the recent death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd while ostensibly being restrained by police officers. The death led to one Minneapolis police officer being charged with second-degree murder and three other officers with aiding and abetting. All four officers on the scene were fired the day after Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died May 25 after the white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.
Caldwell on Monday announced his nominations of former state Attorney General Doug Chin and YMCA CEO and former Judge Michael Broderick to the unpaid, seven-member panel Monday.
The nominations need to be confirmed by the Honolulu City Council.
The selections come not just at a time when police reform is a hot topic, but on the heels of comments made by Steven Levinson and Loretta Sheehan, who resigned from the commission last week and voiced frustration at the ability of the panel to make changes in the department.
Broderick, also a onetime administrator for the state Judiciary, said that 35 years ago he served as the late Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s liaison to the city’s police commission.
Broderick said Bradley told him to remember that police officers deserve the support of the public because they put their lives on the line each day, but that they also need to adhere to a high standard of conduct or be held accountable.
His collective life experiences “have prepared me to fairly strike the proper balance between the two seemingly competing interests,” Broderick said.
Floyd’s death and the ensuing public outrage has served to stress the need for that balance more so now than ever before, he said.
“I think about what’s been happening the last few weeks, just like everybody else,” said Chin, a longtime Honolulu prosecutor before becoming former Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle’s top deputy and then later, when Carlisle became mayor, city managing director. Chin then served as attorney general and lieutenant governor under Gov. David Ige before an unsuccessful bid for Congress two years ago.
“It’s been moving; it’s been frightening, very sobering,” Chin said.”It’s been a very difficult time, but I know that through everything that has been happening, there is what I believe is a sea change that’s happening in our country.”
Three commission members have left since February: Karen Chang left earlier this year after her husband, Rick Blangiardi, announced he would run for mayor this year; Levinson and Sheehan resigned in recent weeks.
Caldwell said a third potential nominee to the all-volunteer, seven-person commission is still being vetted.
Levinson and Sheehan voiced frustration about the limited authority of the commission and a culture among the panel that focused more on supporting rather than scrutinizing the department.
Chang, Levinson and Sheehan, like the four current members of the commission, all were appointed by Caldwell over the last seven-plus years of his term.
Broderick said he does not support defunding HPD. But certain reforms are proposed under the 8 Can’t Wait initiative, part of the Campaign Zero effort that reformists are demanding that U.S. police departments implement. Although he doesn’t necessarily support all eight recommendations, he would like the commission to have a serious talk with Chief Susan Ballard about the ones that aren’t policy — and why not, he said.
Chin said the public demands a high level of transparency from the chief, officers and the commission itself.
Several hours later, after the two nominees spoke about reform, Ballard announced that she was halting the allowed use of a submission move called a vascular neck restraint motion, at least until a review of overall use-of-force policy is completed. (See story on Page A1.)
Caldwell said he not only opposes defunding HPD, but that the city was looking at bolstering the department’s budget by $8 million in response to a spike in certain types of crime.
“The Honolulu Police Department protects all of us,” the mayor said. “They are the guardians of everyone on this island. And we need to make sure they receive the proper funding to be able to do that.”
Private defense attorney Marcus Landsberg said he has mixed emotions about Caldwell’s picks.
Landsberg said he knows Broderick personally, “and I consider his balanced judgment superb.”
Appointing a career prosecutor such as Chin, however, “sends a clear message that you’re not looking for anything to change,” Landsberg said. “A senior prosecutor either didn’t realize reform was necessary or chose not to initiate necessary reforms.”
Landsberg suggested that Caldwell should instead be looking at veteran defense attorneys to bring a needed perspective to the commission.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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