Iannucci reflects on era of change at KPD

LIHU‘E — The last of the “five side-men” is leaving the Kaua‘i Police Commission.

Commissioner Thomas Iannucci is stepping down in January as the sole remaining member seated prior to the seven-member change in 2007.

In 2008, Iannucci chaired the commission and currently is the longest serving commissioner. He reflected on a time of extraordinary change.

Iannucci’s tenure began in 2005, at a time when the Kaua‘i Police Department faced ethics violations, a federal investigation and the resignations of police chiefs and commissioners under fire. Today, he said the commission functions quite well, and there is solid leadership at KPD with an internal affairs office in place, and an ongoing accreditation process to meet national law enforcement standards.

“It is not yet a perfect department, but we are in a way much better place today operationally and structurally,” Iannucci said.

Accepting that some people are resistant to change and that not everybody is happy with the direction of KPD, Iannucci said there is no quick fix. “It is about creating a process that will succeed in the long haul,” he said.

Kaua‘i County Council Member Dickie Chang said he admires Iannucci’s leadership style and credits him and others like him with transforming the county and the police commission. Once followers, he said the other islands and the Mainland now look to see how things are done on Kaua‘i.

“I think Tom was an excellent asset to the police commission,” Chang said. “He articulated extremely well, and in his tenure of seven years he learned the system and brought communication to another level of trust and transparency — and just a lot of aloha.”

Reviving a troubled department begins with leadership. Iannucci said future police commissioners should understand government and law enforcement, and see their role as a buffer between the community and the KPD.

The primary function of the commission is to hire and oversee the chief, review the police department budget and handle complaints against the department. He said a good  commissioner would maintain objectivity to act in the best interests of the people of Kaua‘i.

The legacy of the “KPD Blue” era is reflected in emails and letters that still reference corruption of the past when current complaints don’t go their way.

Iannucci said complaints are a priority and are investigated “by the book.” The complainant and the officer in question are afforded an opportunity to present their case in person to help determine if it is valid, he said.

A county attorney provides legal advice and at times a commissioner with prior law enforcement experience can explain standard police procedure. Former Police Chief Brian Fujiuchi is contracted to interview witnesses when the complaint is unclear.

Officers are subject to disciplinary action when a complaint is found to be valid. “Previously, that didn’t happen too often,” he said.

“It’s not an overnight change, but a long-term process, and complaints have dropped tremendously. I am proud of our officers. We have a great department,” Iannucci said.

Iannucci joined the police commission in January 2005 at the invitation of Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan Baptiste. He said the mayor sought to bring in new people because he felt there were some concerns with the commission at the time. The mayor wanted Iannucci on board because he was a pastor who was very much involved in the community and was a former U.S. Marine who served in the highly selective Marine Security Guard Battalion.

After six months Iannucci stepped down. He recalls a fractured commission that did not act on complaints and was at odds with the mayor and the city council. At times, as he inquired into questionable practices and what appeared to be mismanagement at KPD, Iannucci said others told him  that “he was new and just didn’t understand.”

He described the commission as “an island unto itself.”

Iannucci said he decided to focus his energies on his church.

“I felt too many things were being brushed under the carpet or overlooked,” Iannucci said.

Over the next six months Iannucci said clergy, police and community members asked him to reconsider the mayor’s invitation and return to the commission. He agreed and returned “in the middle of a storm” in January 2006.

Ethics investigations directed at the commission and KPD members were under way.

The commission had in the past year selected KPD Lt. K.C. Lum over four higher-ranking officers to become chief. Iannucci said he questioned the process and was told that was the way things had always been done. Other lawsuits were brought by KPD officers and civilians.

“The department at that point was almost split, like a civil war was taking place,” he said. “There was a lot of bad blood and people were taking sides, in my opinion.”

Commissioner Leon Gonsalves returned to the commission, and he was joined by a new commissioner, Russell Grady. Iannucci said a balance existed for the first time in 2006.

As momentum grew to address the problems surrounding the KPD and Chief Lum, Iannucci said there were strong words and threats of intimidation directed at the commissioners.

In March 2006 Iannucci sided with Commissioners Gonsalves and Grady in voting that Chief Lum was “not adequately carrying out the duties of his office, for not leading an effective police department, and with not adequately managing and controlling employees.”

Commission Chair Carol Furtado voted against the condemnation. Commissioner Michael Ching did not vote and resigned as an ethics commission accused him of manipulating Lum’s selection process.

Lum lost the support of the police union and retired the day before his contract was canceled by the county council on June 8, 2006. From that point, Iannucci said “slowly, things began to change.”

The commission followed seniority protocol and named Clay Arinaga as interim chief. Arinaga discovered that more than 200 complaints that were forwarded by the commission had not been addressed, Iannucci said.

In 2007 Grady became chair and Iannucci the vice chair. Iannucci was now certified in parliamentary procedures, and the goal was to focus on purpose.

The first task was to hire the new chief. At the time, Iannucci recalls accusations that the $50,000 used to contract with a California firm to direct the selection process was a pay-off. Iannucci said hiring the first was to ensure the hiring of the next chief was not biased.

“At that point, everything we did we tried to do above board,” he said.

The commission established the qualifications for the open search and attracted 120 applicants. Around 60 candidates advanced and the executive search firm narrowed the list to six semifinalists.

The Commission selected three finalists and brought in police chiefs from similar-sized counties on the Mainland to interview the candidates and make recommendations. Honolulu Police Department Major Darryl Perry was the recommendation of all three groups.

“He was the best guy and time has proved he was the best right guy, and he had one heck of a job,” Iannucci said.

County Council Vice-President JoAnn Yukimura said Iannucci provided professional leadership with the commission during a critical time in the police department’s history. She said the council and the community are grateful for its “fair and vigorous” selection process for the chief.

Prior to the changes, she said the council saw signs of trouble with KPD financial overruns and with a rising number of “overflow” complaints that came to the council’s attention for not being handled by the chief. These were tell-tale signs of trouble from the council’s perspective, she said.

“The process of choosing a county manager is most critical,” Yukimura said. “The police commission has the job of choosing the chief, and when it is done poorly, everyone suffers. And when it is done well, then everyone benefits.”

The chief’s salary was raised to ensure it was above the subordinate positions. Iannucci said an ongoing effort is to bring salaries on track with similar-sized departments.

Among Chief Perry’s early concerns was that KPD had not changed its mission or structure in 30 years while the population of the island had doubled. Only two new beats were added in that time with no significant policy updates.

“Chief Perry has become a sledge hammer of change, and his performance has been outstanding in a very difficult job,” he said.

In 2008, Iannucci chaired the commission.

Recruiting remains the strongest concern. KPD has 24 openings and only 16 candidates emerged from a recent screening. There are 11 cadets in the current KPD Academy class.

Iannucci is concerned that at times the number of personnel retiring each year outnumbers the incoming officers. He said offering incentives could help attract candidates opting for the relatively lower cost of living on the Mainland.

“I know we have probably lost a few good candidates due to that fact,” he said.

Iannucci said a youth cadet program now exists for students ages 16 to 21 to teach them about law enforcement, civic work and life skills.

Iannucci said he believes a  police reserve program might also help in getting more officers on more beats.

Perry initiated a continuing education curriculum for officers through Kaua‘i Community College.

“The chief is very innovative. He uses the resources available to him and he uses his men,” Iannucci said. “There is a lot going on, and there are more opportunities for officers than ever before.”

Seven years ago, Iannucci said, there wasn’t a higher ranking officer that he would have recommended for chief. That is not the case today, with many outstanding officers up for advancement.

Iannucci is taking a year off from civic work to spend more time with family and the church. In addition to the commission, he will be stepping down from the Red Cross Advisory Council, Friends of the Drug Court board and the board of U- Turn for Christ.

“I am going to pull back and spend more time with my wife and kids,” he said.

Iannucci said someday he might seek a role with KPD to help develop the chaplaincy program or maybe attend the civilian police academy.

“After so many years and attending state and federal meetings, it is kind of hard to walk away,” he said. “After a mandatory year break, I would even consider going back.”

Iannucci grew up in Long Island, N.Y. After high school he worked as a karate instructor and joined the Marines following the deadly 1983 Beirut suicide bombing that killed 299 American and French military during the Lebanese Civil War.

After working in avionics, Iannucci passed the embassy duty test and was selected for the Marine Security Guard Battalion. Embassy guards are rained in anti-terrorism, diplomatic security and also in police work.

Iannucci’s first posting was in Tokyo, where he met D’Lissa, a model from Kaua‘i who was working in Japan as a co-host of the TV show, “Do-Sports!” The two chose to live on Kaua‘i after Iannucci completed a another overseas tour at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

∫ Tom LaVenture can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@ thegardenisland.com.