Even on better days, the job of a police officer can be fraught — with inherent dangers that come with carrying a badge and gun, responsibilities to keep community and self safe, and a public profile that amplifies officers’ conduct.

Today, that latter scrutiny is inescapable, amid flareups fueled most recently by the George Floyd-Derek Chauvin trial into police brutality, as well as other deep-seated, complex issues of mistrust and “Black Lives Matter” racism. And even melting-pot Hawaii — which has mostly avoided egregious police episodes that have sparked rioting in other cities — is not immune.

Two recent police fatal shootings here have unnerved residents, and the Honolulu Police Department must do better in providing answers to many unsettling questions.

>> In the April 5 shooting of Iremamber Sykap, a 16-year-old Micronesian youth, HPD should release police body-camera footage of the confrontation that ended with the stolen car driven by Sykap bullet-ridden and in the Kalakaua Canal. Some three weeks after that highly public incident — reportedly preceded by a crime spree that included car theft and armed robbery — no on-scene body-cam footage or 911 calls had been released. Outgoing HPD Chief Susan Ballard gave minimal facts on April 5 and police later confirmed multiple arrests on Sykap’s juvenile record — but as of Friday, HPD still refused to release the body-cam recordings, citing legalities over other minors who were in the car with Sykap. But even Honolulu police commissioners last week questioned this excuse, rightly asking about release of footage with youths’ faces digitally blurred.

>> HPD did release some body-cam footage of the April 14 fatal shooting of Lindani Myeni, 29, after police responded to a night burglary call in Nuuanu. HPD acknowledged the officers had not identified themselves as police in that intense, dark situation before shining their flashlights on Myeni and ordering him on the ground. Rather than comply, Myeni lunged at and repeatedly hit the officers. HPD released footage of Myeni punching the officers, but need to release the entire scene recordings for fuller context. All three officers required medical attention, with one hospitalized for days with broken facial bones. Myeni’s widow is now suing the city and the police officers for wrongful death of her husband, a Black man and father of two.

How things got so tragically out of control needs explanation for our concerned community. For the most part, Hawaii has a stable, respectful relationship with its county police forces — and that’s a huge credit to the police, as well as the citizenry. But just as trust can go a long way to defuse incidents, so, too, can mistrust quickly erode public confidence and compliance.

The danger at this juncture is that the police’s information vacuum could suck away hard-earned, positive community relations. For HPD to wall off and close ranks, rather than provide needed details, would, lamentably, start eroding the goodwill that Ballard had begun to rebuild in her first couple of years as chief.

Even as recently as June, Ballard had shown laudable responsiveness in light of the brutal Chauvin- Floyd episode in Minneapolis, ordering a review of HPD’s use-of-force policies. Earlier this month, Ballard signed off on the improved policies, key among them:

>> A crucial emphasis on de-escalation — training officers with strategies to stay calm, slow down, create space and use communication techniques to defuse potentially dangerous situations.

>> A permanent restriction on vascular neck restraints, now to be allowed only for the most dire situations when an officer’s life is in danger. In Minneapolis, Floyd died after then-policeman Chauvin kept pressing a knee on his neck despite bystanders’ objections.

>> A new section on officers’ duty to intervene should they observe an unlawful use of force, plus prevention of retaliation for officers speaking out. Chauvin had continued kneeing Floyd’s neck, undeterred by the presence of other police officers.

HPD’s adoption of best practices, particularly de-escalation, is necessary and encouraging. But it will take enhanced and continual training of officers — on a force, ideally, that reflects the community’s diversity — to ensure that written policies become actual practice on the streets.

Disappointingly, Ballard abruptly announced her June 1 retirement after the police commission recently gave her a critical review over subpar communication and HPD management this past pandemic year. Ballard can and should still step up transparency on HPD’s behalf — but it soon will fall on her to-be-named successor to uphold improved standards.

Each and every police-involved shooting is tragic — and different, with its own unique set of circumstances. Still, a police department gets into trouble if its cases start pointing to a pattern of laxness, stonewalling or, worse, unjust use of force against the people it pledges to serve and protect. Knowing what occurred, and how, is imperative. The public deserves high standards, as do the men and women of the Honolulu Police Department.