The Honolulu Police Commission whittled down its list of 34 chief candidates to nine Wednesday after ranking their scores from a written exam that was administered by an independent contractor helping evaluate the applicants.
Those remaining candidates will now have to undergo a second round of testing, called an “assessment center,” in which they will face a new barrage of questions and undergo a psychological examination to ensure they’re fit for duty.
The Honolulu Police Commission has a big decision to make on who will be the next chief.
Anthony Quintano/Civil Beat
Police Commission Chairman Max Sword said that once the assessment center is completed the commission will choose a group of finalists whose names will then be revealed to the public.
At this point, the commissioners say they do not know the identities of the candidates.
Whoever is selected as Honolulu’s next police chief will take over a department in turmoil.
The last chief, Louis Kealoha, left under a cloud of suspicion after he was named as a target of an ongoing federal corruption investigation stemming from allegations that he and his wife, Katherine, who is a city prosecutor, framed a family member along with the help of several other Honolulu police officers.
That’s not the only controversy. The department has been dogged by allegations that it doesn’t take domestic violence seriously, especially when the alleged perpetrator is a police officer.
Many other officers have been arrested for serious crimes in recent years, too, raising concerns that oversight and accountability are lacking within the department.
The post Honolulu’s Search For A New Police Chief Down To 9 Candidates appeared first on Honolulu Civil Beat.