LIHU‘E — Hanama‘ulu Beach Park was the main topic of the County of Kaua‘i Police Commission meeting Friday.
The meeting began with Commission Chair Ernest Kanekoa, Jr. updating the condition of Commissioner Charles Iona, who is preparing for open heart surgery on Wednesday at Prince Hospital in Honolulu.
“He is in good spirits and jovial,” Kanekoa said.
County Council Chair Jay Furfaro addressed the Commission on Loss Prevention and Public Safety Issues for Hanama‘ulu Beach Park. The county is putting money into affordable housing and rentals at Kalepa and in Hanama‘ulu, he said, where the park is a regional recreational area for fishing and events.
Furfaro and three other council members attended a meeting of the Hanama‘ulu Town Association regarding beach area concerns. He said this tight-knit community took it upon themselves two years ago to repaint and repair beach pavilion damage and make other improvements.
“Quickly thereafter it was vandalized, and quite badly,” Furfaro said. “The steps were removed, and the graffiti is all over the new painting.”
Residents complained of the homeless camping, and of all night drinking and activities that are even keeping the anglers away. Furfaro produced a draft bill for a no drinking policy from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and said it would give KPD an ordinance to enforce.
“This is to discourage people from carrying on to all hours, and is similar to what occurred at Nawiliwili,” Furfaro said.
Since the park is in a flood zone, any new construction would trigger an environmental impact statement and compliance issues that would require elevating the area including restrooms and the pavilion. Furfaro said the recommendation is to continue normal repairs of existing facilities that would not trigger the EIS.
Furfaro asked officers to attend the November Hanama‘ulu meeting and listen to introduce their concerns about the beach park and cemetery.
“There is deep concern about vagrancy at the park,” he said. “Hanama‘ulu is a close community and feel they have no control over the park.”
Furfaro also discussed risk management issues regarding state and county fund trusts for retirement and benefit systems. Rather than a fluctuating system from department to department, Furfaro suggested that an escrow account exist to cover liabilities of all departments at the same time.
Commissioner Bradley Chiba recapped his attendance at the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement Conference this past weekend in San Diego. He attended workshops on technology with policing, social media and the pros-and-cons of wearing body cameras.
“It was a privilege to attend,” Chiba said. “My overall take on the conference was that it was very worthwhile attending, and that it is something we should continue sending one or two people each year for insight, and for the opportunity to talk story with commissioners from other parts of country.”
Another workshop was focused on community protests. Chiba said the Superferry incident, and recent Occupy and GMO protests encouraged him to attend. He said the class on assessing investigations taught techniques for gathering information using non-biased, fact-based and credible methods.
The 82nd Recruitment Class of the KPD Police Academy will have a graduation ceremony on Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m. at Kaua‘i Beach Resort Jasmine Ballroom. Nine of 10 recruits will be graduating. One recruit was injured during training and will join the next class.
Police Chief Darryl Perry said there are 13 finalists at present with a possible 15 recruits planned for the next Academy.
Perry updated the group on senior citizen outreach meetings. He said the seniors appreciated being brought up to date on issues concerning crimes against seniors.
“They are very receptive, friendly and supportive of police department,” Perry said.
Commission Vice-Chair James O’Connor said the seniors asked a lot of questions and he appreciated that they came away more assured about the police and public safety.
Commissioner Donald Okami, Sr. said it is good when people can put a name to a face.
“It gives them a sense of ownership and they feel respected,” Okami said.
Perry said to look for police road blocks to warn moped riders about safety issues after a recent fatality.
Perry said he and other officers were in Honolulu on Thursday to recognize Officer Troy Sakaguchi, who was recognized with other “Top Cops” at a ceremony. Sakaguchi was recognized for saving lives last December by stopping a suspect who stabbed four victims in the Waimea Valley..
The Commission noted its decisions on September executive session complaints.
The commission found that a complaint filed in August alleging that officers used extensive force, abused authority and conducted an invalid search contained insufficient evidence. Another August complaint alleging that an officer’s conduct was unprofessional in refusing to accept the complainant’s written statement or allowing them to speak contained sufficient evidence for further review.
The closed executive session included two new complaints regarding an August incident where a complainant felt that an officer handled a situation improperly and it resulted in the complainant’s arrest. The second complaint alleges that officers harassed a complainant with questioning and remarks during a traffic stop.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 30 at 9 a.m. at the Moikeha Building in Meeting Room 2A-2B, followed by Executive Session.
• Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
