The Maui Police Department is looking for a new leader and fresh start after the administration of retired Chief Tivoli S. Faaumu ended with an investigation and admission that he left the scene of a minor collision in a shopping center parking lot.

Faaumu stepped down in April after 35 years with MPD. Deputy Chief Dean M. Rickard is serving as the department’s interim chief in charge of more than 420 sworn officers and civilian support personnel on Maui, Lanai and Molokai.

Police departments in Hawaii and throughout the country are at the center of a community reckoning on the future of policing, the use of force and the transparency of law enforcement agencies funded by the tax-paying public.

According to a 2019 community survey, 37% of Maui residents who responded had confidence in MPD officers and how they interact with the community, 26% were neutral and 37% had little or no confidence.

“The chief must realize that Maui is a tourist-”based industry, and he or she is responsible for the 2.2 million Maui visitors each year. The chief is a leader among Hawaii’s multiethnic cultures and must understand and embrace the rapidly changing demographics in Hawaii and communicate and interact with each,” Gary Yabuta, executive director of the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and a 31-year veteran and former chief of the Maui Police Department, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

“The chief must nurture a relationship and develop partnerships with all of Hawaii’s police chiefs and the state’s law enforcement and criminal justice leaders. These partnerships also extend to social and health care providers, as the chief must realize that law enforcement alone cannot solve our social problems or crime in general.”

The Maui chief’s position pays $158,851 a year, and the minimum qualifications include U.S. citizenship and five years of experience in law enforcement with at least three years spent in an administrative capacity. Applications must be submitted by July 12.

The nine-member Maui Police Commission has responsibility for appointing the police chief. Members are nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the County Council.

“Commission members have an excellent record of success, and I look forward to working with their chosen candidate, whoever he or she may be,” Maui Mayor Michael P. Victorino told the Star-Advertiser.

Police Commission Chairman Frank De Rego Jr. said the commission began advertising the position May 29, starting a 45-day window for the acceptance of applications. The National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives will be among the organizations sent the posting for circulation to its members.

“I am encouraged by the interest our local community has taken in the hiring of the new chief,” De Rego said.

Alice L. Lee, chairwoman of the Maui County Council, said the county needs a chief who is open, honest, fair, objective, creative, collaborative and maintains good communications with his department personnel and the public. Faaumu’s replacement cannot be afraid to lead, she said.

“Ongoing challenges with this department include vacancies and retention of officers. Wish we could increase the compensation for our officers. We are constantly recruiting. But then after we train our recruits, they leave for other municipalities that pay more,” Lee told the Star-Advertiser. “If the new chief communicates well with the community, is open and consistently candid and enforces the laws and policies in an even-handed way, he or she will succeed.”

Faaumu, an Army veteran, attended the FBI National Academy and holds a master’s degree in homeland security from American Military University. The commissioners agreed to prefer, but not require, applicants to possess a bachelor’s degree or to have graduated from the FBI National Academy.

Faaumu, who was named chief in 2014, admitted to hitting a parked motorcycle Nov. 7 in the parking lot of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center after a video of the incident from a mall security camera surfaced. Faaumu told a Honolulu Police Commission investigator who was brought in to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest that he didn’t feel like he hit anything when his subsidized vehicle backed into another parking stall.

He left the scene and was issued a civil citation after the motorcycle he hit sustained less than $3,000 in damage.

The commission voted in May to allow Faaumu to retire in good standing with benefits.

State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers President Malcolm Lutu said Faaumu enjoyed a lot of support from rank-and-file officers and communicated well with his charges.

“He was always accessible and showed up at our end-of-the-year functions. That means a lot for him to show up at a union gathering pre-COVID,” Lutu said. “There will always be some kind of disagreement between a union and the employer, but his door was always open. That’s what we are looking for in the next chief — to communicate and keep the channels open.”

Yabuta said the next chief must effectively maintain morale by communicating with sworn officers and civilian personnel in a manner that is fair and promotes dialogue and accessibility.

“Law enforcement is a science, a never-ending study. All phenomena suspected of impacting the wellness of the community must be examined through a science-based methodology. The science of policing is a dynamic process, and community threats must be consistently evaluated and determined,” he said. “Then the chief must develop and implement an action strategy to deter and eliminate the threats. Whether to continue a strategic action will be determined by measured and quantifiable results.”