LIHUE — “A police officer is not a 9 to 5 occupation and if you’re in it for the money, then you are in the wrong profession,” said the patrol officer on the Westside. The comment came during my ride-a-long on
LIHUE — “A police officer is not a 9 to 5 occupation and if you’re in it for the money, then you are in the wrong profession,” said the patrol officer on the Westside.
The comment came during my ride-a-long on a warm Saturday afternoon in the Koloa area.
Sitting along a stretch of downtown Koloa, we watched for drivers with expired inspection tags, or using cellphones and not wearing seat belts. It was just minutes before a young man in a sports car exited the nearby grocery store parking lot and drove by us.
The tiny black tag on the license plate meant that it had expired the month before. The officer saw it along with the seat belt violation I during the stop the driver didn’t have motor vehicle insurance.
It is a pattern with people who do these things, the officer said. You stop someone for a moving violation and you usually find more.
A couple of hundred dollars in fines later, the teenager drove away.
We drove down Hoone Road along Brenneke’s Beach and then on to Pe‘e Road through the narrow streets and blind intersections.
”It’s a wonder there aren’t more accidents here — and there are,” the officer said as we observed so many pedestrians making their way across the road from their condos to the beach.
Past the Grand Hyatt where there is a professional water event, the officer stopped about a half mile away to ticket a truck that was illegally parked.
We ticketed our way back to Brenneke’s Beach, where not one owner moved their illegally parked cars in the half hour that passed since the first appearance of the police car. The owners came running, though, with every excuse in the book once the ticket book and pen came out.
“I’ve already started writing the ticket,” he said to each one in reply.
Later, the officer said it doesn’t make him a hard guy to do his job — even if he was born and raised on the island.
I rode along with police as part of a class to teach civilians how the Kauai Police Department operates — but it was also a chance to better appreciate the responsibilities that come with the duty to protect and serve the community.
Police Chief Darryl Perry said we would be expected to learn quite a bit over the next two months in order to understand what it’s like to be a police officer — and then be able to ask ourselves if we could do that job.
Deputy Chief Michael Contrades said there are strict physical and mental requirements required to just apply to become a recruit — and once through the academy, officers are expected to maintain high standards of conduct each day, on and off duty.
Part of the program included firearms training at Kipu shooting range to give participants an idea of how fast an officer must assess a situation and decide if they need to use a weapon. The decision-making process involves analyzing a perceived threat and deciding on the appropriate motor skill response to the situation within 1.36 seconds, said course leader Lt. Paul Applegate.
Officers apply a “verbal judo” technique to ease tension and attempt to resolve a situation with a highly upset individual. The goal is to avoid a physical confrontation and no police officer wants to play super cop, said Sgt. Christopher Calio, a retired Army Sgt. Major.
Intermediate weapons, baton, pepper spray and Tasing are appropriate for an active aggression and where physical restraint is applied to persons exhibiting defensive or passive resistance. Deadly force is an appropriate response when the officer or another person in the immediate area is imminently threatened with a weapon, lethal force or an assault.
Other subjects covered during the class:
• Officer Jason Matsuoka taught cadets how to write a police report — down to the type of pen and notepad to use for convenience and efficiency. Deputy prosecuting attorneys followed with the importance of detailed reports and adherence to laws in affecting search warrants and arrests.
• Officer Scott Yamaguchi provided a class on the technology and the databasing of finger and hand prints and face mug shots in a statewide and federal system.
• ISB Lt. Bryson Ponce showed the class the tools they scan a crime scene with to help ensure they swab down the best areas to possibly collect otherwise invisible evidence left behind by a suspect. He emphasized that the investigation has as much to do with interviewing victims, witnesses, and possible suspects as much as collecting physical evidence for the crime labs.
• Sgt. Cayabyab, K9 handler, brought in “Simon,” a Belgium Malanois he trains and cares for at his own home. Simon can detect methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and ecstasy, and can detect the remaining odor of a substance that had been present in vehicles, packages and buildings.
Officers work with stress levels a little higher than most professions, but they are human and need support over time and especially after handling a difficult incident.
“When their normal coping mechanism is overwhelmed,” Ozaki said.
