LIHUE — The Kauai Police Department leadership is saying they don’t build the island roads, but they do enforce the laws and that means accident investigations will cause traffic delays.
At the Kauai Police Commission meeting Friday, Chief of Police Darryl Perry addressed complaints stemming from a three-car crash that resulted in a vehicle fire and four injuries on Dec. 13. Both lanes of Kaumualii Highway were closed for three hours while KPD investigators completed their reports.
Perry said that numerous calls including a visitor complained to the chief’s office while shouting obscenities and saying the KPD should all be fired. The investigation of a serious accident with injuries is complex and requires measurements, interviews and preservation of the scene for evidence to be used in civil or criminal cases.
“If we don’t do a good job at the scene then the victims and the families of the victims will suffer,” Perry said. “We use sophisticated equipment to get the job done as quickly as possible.”
Commissioner Randy Francisco said he was caught was in the traffic jam and that his patience was tested as much as anyone. When he saw the emergency vehicles drive by he said everyone around him understood the seriousness of the situation.
“We all get our share of yelling and screaming but at the end of the day it is not just what is accomplished but how we conduct ourselves,” Francisco said.
In other news:
• The Commission selected Vice Chair Charles Iona to serve as chair in 2014. He will be sworn in prior to the first regular meeting of the year on Jan. 24, 2014.
Iona is a retired police officer who also served as commission chair in 2011. He is beginning the first year of his second term with the commission and will replace 2013 Commission Chair James O’Connor.
• The KPD Officer of the Month is Troy Sakaguchi of the Patrol Services Bureau. He was nominated for his work in apprehending a repeat car burglar who was charged with six counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle during an islandwide crime spree in September and October.
According to the commendation, Sakaguchi’s efforts led to the arrest of a suspect in three cases. Additional stolen items were discovered after searching the suspect’s vehicle that were linked to three more cases.
• Perry announced the month’s retirees that included Assistant Chief Sherwin “Kaleo” Perez, who will retire the end of the year after 28 years of service to the department.
“It is sad to see him go, but we celebrate and want to be sure he knows that he will be missed,” Perry said.
