Honolulu Police Department defends actions following arrest of new police chief’s son

The Honolulu Police Commission is seeking an explanation from police leadership about why the felony arrest of newly appointed Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan’s son was initially concealed from the media and public.

Commissioners also were unaware that Logan’s 36-year-old son, Zane Michael Batalona Logan, had more than 40 prior arrests and citations since 2004 for an array of crimes.

Zane Logan’s interactions with the criminal justice system include arrests for felony methamphetamine possession, felony theft from a Target store and a temporary restraining order brought by a 70-year-old University of Hawaii professor who accused Logan of breaking into his apartment on multiple occasions and attacking his female tenant who was Logan’s ex-girlfriend.

Zane Logan was arrested Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at 1201 Ala Moana Blvd. after police responded to a 911 call of two men arguing in the middle of a street. The alleged assault happened at about 5:15 p.m. at Ala Moana Regional Park when Logan allegedly attacked a 33-year-old man with a hand tool. Zane Logan remains in police custody.

The 33-year-old victim refused treatment from paramedics. A 41-year-old female acquaintance who was with Zane Logan was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threatening after telling the 33-year-old she would kill him with a razor blade, according to police.

At a 2:30 p.m. news conference Wednesday, Hawaii News Now asked why the highlight of the incident was initially marked “Do Not Post To The Media” in red letters and kept from the public. Interim Chief Rade Vanic said that many times there is information that is not releasable and the department ensures proper notifications are made prior to the highlight becoming public, like in cases involving juveniles or outside agencies.

“In this particular case because of the timing of the incident we did want to make sure that before releasing the information, we made sure that there wasn’t any information that was released that could compromise the investigation because we wanted to make sure we handled this like we handle all other investigations,” Vanic said. “This case was handled as we would handle any normal case. If there is any thought that this was handled in a way that would have compromised the investigation or handled in a special way, that is completely false. We are currently conferring the case with the prosecutor’s office as we would any other case and we are seeking felony charges and based on the prosecutor’s review of the case we will move forward with charges as appropriate.”

Matthew Dvonch, special counsel to Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm, declined comment on Zane Logan’s arrest, citing an ongoing investigation.

Commission Chair Shannon Alivado told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the commission does not make judgments about the hiring of Arthur Logan based on what his adult son does. The commission’s concern is that there is no special treatment and that his son’s case is handled like any other suspect of a crime, she said.

“Maj. Gen. Logan demonstrated his commitment to transparent communication and equal treatment of all suspects in a crime when he took the initiative today to address the media about his son’s arrest on an assault charge,” Alivado said. “He continues to have my respect and support. I wish his family the best as they work through this difficulty. There have been questions raised about a delay in posting news of Zane Logan’s arrest on the media logs. We will be asking Chief Vanic to explain the policy for media posting at our next meeting.”

Logan is not yet on the job, but during his first news conference since being named chief Monday, he told reporters he would not be involved in the investigation of his son.

“I wish this was not the start of my first conference, but as your next police chief I feel it is my duty and responsibility to inform you of this,” said Logan, speaking in the same room where Honolulu police commissioners selected him as the city’s 12th chief. “He assaulted a 33-year-old male with a hand tool and the (female) acquaintance threatened the victim with a sharp instrument … I will not be involved or kept apprised of this situation. As a parent, it’s heartbreaking. I know many of you out there probably have a family member that is struggling and it’s something that we’ve been struggling with for a long time.”

Logan told the Star-Advertiser he has not seen or spoken to his son since his arrest nor has the family retained an attorney on his behalf. He declined to comment on what his son is struggling with.

“We are going through the struggles that he is facing and so we would like to keep that a little bit more quiet as far as what he’s struggling with,” Logan said.

Vanic did not reply to Star-Advertiser questions about whether any of Zane Logan’s previous arrests had ever been marked “Do Not Post To The Media.” Honolulu police called Logan to notify him of his son’s arrest.