Honolulu police chief finalists to present their cases in TV forum

The four finalists vying to serve as the city’s 12th police chief bring a diverse array of professional experiences to the job but are all committed to restoring trust in the department and communicating and collaborating with the public to help keep the community safe.

The public will get a chance to hear from Honolulu police Maj. Mike Lambert, head of the Honolulu Police Department’s Ke Kula Makai Training Division; Maj. Ben Moszkowicz, who runs HPD’s Traffic Division; retired Brig. Gen. Arthur “Joe” Logan, former adjutant general of the Hawaii National Guard, who currently works as a criminal investigator with the state Attorney General’s Office; and retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. Scott Ebner, who was recently one of five finalists for the job of chief of the Prescott Valley Police Department in Arizona.

The public will hear from the four finalists during a live, televised forum today on PBS Hawaii’s “Insights” program. Oral and written testimony from the public will be accepted before the 90-minute program, televised at 7:30 p.m. and also live­streamed. The forum will be hosted by Honolulu Star-­Advertiser “Spotlight Hawaii” host Yunji de Nies.

The Star-Advertiser spoke with each of the candidates and asked why they believe the Honolulu Police Commission should tap them to lead the state’s largest law enforcement agency.

Each finalist believes their experience and vision for the future of policing on Oahu and managing a force of more than 2,000 sworn officers and civilian personnel with an annual budget of more than $300 million qualify them for the department’s top job.

“For me it’s the challenge of trying to fix what others have not been willing to,” said Lambert, a 19-year HPD veteran. “We do the same things we did in the ’80s and ’90s and hope the bad winds blow over. It’s personal for me. There has been a dulling of the badge, so to speak, and how people feel about law enforcement.”

Lambert has served in various roles at HPD, including patrol Districts 1, 6 and 7, Central Receiving Division, Narcotics Vice Division and the Community Outreach Unit.

Lambert said he wants to mend the relationship with the community that was fractured in the wake of the federal investigation that ended with the imprisonment of former Chief Louis Kealoha. Transparency, innovative approaches to policing and a set structure for officers speaking to the media and public in real time about events is essential, he said. Learning how the new generation of police recruits grow and adapt to the ever-changing nature of the job is key to recruitment and retention. Setting up a disciplinary system that is fair to all officers is a priority, he said.

The current Administrative Review Board setup, where assistant chiefs review and hand out discipline, does not foster a sense of fairness.

“That inconsistency leads to the belief that the internal discipline system favors those … on the ins. It undermines internal morale,” said Lambert. “Officers aren’t against accountability. They are against inconsistent accountability.”

Prior to Logan’s 41-career in the military, he joined HPD in 1982 and worked as a patrol officer, narcotics/vice officer and solo bike officer before being promoted to sergeant and was assigned as a detective in the robbery detail.

His experience leading the 2,000-member Hawaii National Guard with an annual budget of $200 million will allow him to hit the ground running, he said.

“I understand an administration and all the parts and pieces and how they work together,” he said.

Connecting with the younger generation and recruiting them to a career in law enforcement must be part of an effort to reestablish policing as a profession.

“Being a police officer is a profession. It’s the same as being a doctor a dentist or a lawyer,” said Logan. “You have to stay abreast of what mainland departments are going through. That is coming to Hawaii. We need to embrace it. Change is always going to happen. We need to make sure our younger generation sees it as a profession. A career.”

Moszkowicz, who recently attended the FBI National Academy, said protecting and bolstering the trust the community has in HPD is key to moving the department forward. His professional website touts his motto for leadership, ​”Integrity, Collaboration, Accountability, Leadership and Innovation.”

He served as the commander of HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division, Human Resources Division, the Information Technology Division and the Traffic Division.

He said when he joined the department two decades ago, transparency was a dirty word. Today, it is the key to managing officers and the work they do protecting the public. Collaborating with officers, the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers and the community to address issues before the drama starts is critical to repairing the department’s reputation.

“We find ourselves in the middle of a storm in this country, a tempest, to be sure. The seas are especially rough for law enforcement departments and the relationship we have with our communities. If the Honolulu Police Department continues with business as usual, choosing to drop our sails and wait out the storm, the results will be catastrophic; a future of growing mistrust,” wrote Moszkowicz. “The next Chief of Police must build partnerships, communicate openly and honestly, and promote transparent collaboration with the community, if we are to transform our relationships and navigate forward together towards a clearer horizon.”

Ebner is just happy to be here, he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and believes his 30-year career, where he managed the day-to-day operations of 3,000 officers, will help him set up an approach to policing that will help address the public safety issues on Oahu. His work managing a department dealing with a federal consent decree will help guide the department through the transition to a permanent chief.

“I’m very good at developing accountability and transparency. It makes me uniquely qualified. We all are in our own way,” said Ebner. “I’d like to address violent crime, but I don’t think I can do that unless we hire more people. You have to bolster your ranks and hire extremely diverse candidates, not just from Oahu.”