The Police Commission selected Kaua‘i’s next police chief yesterday during executive session of a special meeting. The group will not say who they picked to fill the position, which has been vacant since June 2006, until an offer is made,
The Police Commission selected Kaua‘i’s next police chief yesterday during executive session of a special meeting.
The group will not say who they picked to fill the position, which has been vacant since June 2006, until an offer is made, said Police Commission Secretary Kris Nakamura.
However, in the 11th hour the search narrowed from three finalists to two, leaving the commission to decide between Gerald Mines, a former police commissioner from Mount Vernon, N.Y., and Darryl Perry, a former major with the Honolulu Police Department from Mililani, who also has a stint with the Kaua‘i Police Department.
According to media reports, both submitted their names for police chief vacancies elsewhere in the state and nation this year.
The third candidate, former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Thomas Aiu, dropped out of the selection process last week, Deputy County Attorney Rosa Flores informed the commissioners yesterday morning.
“(Aiu) had to withdraw his application due to family matters,” Flores said.
The County Attorney’s office had not previously released Aiu’s name to the public due to sensitivity issues surrounding his role within the federal government.
While no one from the public attended the open portions of the meeting, Chair Russ Grady noted that the commission did receive three letters from the community in support of Perry.
California-based CPS Human Resource Services, a professional search service company, was on-hand yesterday during the final interviews behind closed doors with Mines and Perry.
CPS was brought onboard in January to help find a replacement for former Chief K.C. Lum, who retired last year. Together, the commission and CPS narrowed the pool of 66 applicants to three finalists one month ago.
Acting Chief Clayton Arinaga, who will continue to man the post in the absence of a permanent department head, has expressed no interest in making his interim appointment permanent.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, contributed to this report.
