Former Department of Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda was remembered Friday as a dedicated public servant who gave nearly 40 years of his life to the corrections profession, a tough task that required him to balance the rights of inmates with public safety and politics.

Espinda, 65, was found dead on Kailua Beach at about 2 p.m. Thursday. There were no apparent signs of foul play, and an autopsy is pending, according to Honolulu police. “No further information is being released at this time,” said Honolulu Police Department spokesperson Sarah Yoro in a statement. The Honolulu Medical Examiner confirmed that it opened a case involving a man found dead of a gunshot wound Thursday at Kailua Beach.

Espinda started his career in state government as a recreation specialist at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility in 1983. He worked his way up through the department, serving as warden of the Oahu Community Correctional Center, the Waiawa Correctional Facility and Halawa Correctional Facility.

He was named DPS director in 2015.

“Nolan Espinda’s career was spent serving the public in Hawaii’s corrections facilities and administration, jobs that are always difficult and often thankless,” said Gov. David Ige in a statement Friday. “I am saddened by this sudden and tragic loss, and I express my deepest appreciation for Nolan’s dedication and years of public service. I wish his family strength and comfort in the difficult days ahead.”

Ige stood by Espinda when he was taken to task by state lawmakers following a March 2019 riot at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

In April 2019 lawmakers initially rejected Ige’s nomination of Espinda to continue as DPS director, citing the Maui riot as well as an FBI investigation into allegations of falsifying information relating to inmate rapes and the fatal shooting by a deputy sheriff of a homeless man outside the state Capitol in February 2019, which was followed days later by the fatal shooting of an OCCC escapee by corrections officers.

Lawmakers eventually voted 17-8 to confirm Espinda, and his supporters argued at the time that the problems at DPS began well before Espinda took over. They also noted the department did not receive the funding it needed to modernize operations.

State Sen. Clarence Nishihara, chair of the Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, initially recommended in 2019 that Espinda not be confirmed. Nishihara told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Friday that he held no animosity toward Espinda and offered his condolences to his family.

“I had a job to do and he felt he had a job to do, and we’ll let it go at that. He really believed that he had the interest of public safety at heart. He was very diligent about his job,” said Nishihara (D, Waipahu-Pearl City).

Law enforcement officials lauded Espinda’s career, noting that overseeing Hawaii’s prisons and jails is a brutal task that can take a tremendous toll on people.

“He was committed to the Department of Public Safety for decades and did a lot of good things during his public service there,” Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm told the Star-Advertiser on Friday. “My thoughts and best wishes go out to the Espinda and PSD ohana.”

DPS Director Max Otani issued a statement saying Espinda’s “tragic, untimely loss leaves us all stunned. (He) dedicated his entire career to corrections and to serving the people of the state of Hawaii.”

In a separate message to DPS staff, Otani wrote, “It is with heavy heart and sadness that I am informing you of the passing of Former Director Nolan Espinda. He was a career PSD employee, who rose from being a line staff to warden and eventually became our director for six years. His contributions to the department will not be forgotten.”

In September 2020, Espinda abruptly announced his retirement about a week after the United Public Workers and Hawaii Government Employee Association called for his ouster as the coronavirus infected hundreds of Hawaii inmates and employees.

Born in Honolulu in 1957, Espinda graduated from ‘Iolani School in 1975 and earned a degree in political science from California State University at Chico.

‘Iolani School spokesperson Michelle Hee told the Star-Advertiser, “His classmates remember Nolan as a guy with a tough exterior who had a big heart and cared deeply about people. He could always be counted on as a loyal friend.”

Espinda is survived by his wife, Malia; daughters Caitlin, Fallon and Kamaile; and a grandson.

Malia Espinda issued a statement calling her husband “the most brilliant, visionary, and principled man I have ever known. ‘Just do the Right thing every time’ was his mantra and he held an unwavering core value of his personal responsibility to every taxpayer in Hawaii.

“Nolan was a man of few words, but a man of strong actions and stronger convictions. Acting on his convictions inevitably brought resistance and criticism from some who misunderstood his purpose. With the strength of his broad shoulders, Nolan endured through all, until he could no more. We have lost a beautiful, deeply loving man who his children and I will miss forever more.”