HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Honolulu police commission says it could take seven months to find a new police chief using a professional hiring firm.
A firm was used to recommend former police Chief Joe Logan. But the police union and council members want officers to have more of a say in the next top cop.
During a police commission hearing on Wednesday, the commission said it could take until March 2026 to find a new chief and only one commissioner had gone through the hiring process of finding a new chief.
The commissioners said they believed hiring a firm that specializes in hiring police chiefs should be used instead. Just as it was used to find Chief Logan.
“We hope it doesn’t take this long, but we wanted to manage expectations,” explained Lori Foster, Honolulu police commission vice-chair. “And I think it’s real we’ll be able to contract a search firm by November.”
She said firms say the process, which includes interviews and surveys, can take four to six months, and they hope to select one by November.
Councilmember Andria Tupola urged the commission to include input from officers and dispatchers when it comes to finding a new chief.
“I feel like in the last few months that I really felt for these officers, not just with the vacancies but for their safety, their mental health, I mean, we need a leader and someone who is going to advocate for them,” Tupola said.
The police union (SHOPO) recently conducted its own internal survey and found officers want their voices heard when it comes to finding a new boss.
“For too long, the process to hire a chief of police has been done without meaningful input from those who know best,” explained Nick Schlapak, SHOPO state board treasurer. “Which are the men and women the rank and file officers of the department.”
And with three counties actively searching for a new police chief, morale is low.
“We have 2,000 members combined in all four of those departments that are, for lack of a better term, the system is going to let them down in that selection process,” he added.
Tupola suggested the future-hiring firm use the recent SHOPO survey when selecting a new chief to help speed up the process.
Kauai and Hawaii Island police commissions will discuss their chief hiring process on Friday.
Commissioners said the search is too important to rush, and it’ll include input from Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the community.
The commission says taking the time to select a new chief is critical, after several past chiefs did not complete their full 5-year terms.