A little more than a year without an official leader, the Kaua‘i Police Department’s search for a new chief has zeroed-in on three final candidates. Kaua‘i police have been without a department head since former chief K.C. Lum retired in
A little more than a year without an official leader, the Kaua‘i Police Department’s search for a new chief has zeroed-in on three final candidates.
Kaua‘i police have been without a department head since former chief K.C. Lum retired in June 2006.
The Police Commission announced yesterday the names of its remaining top applicants, pared down from the 66 that were reviewed by California-based CPS Human Resource Services, a consultant hired by the county.
The three finalists include Gerald Mines, a former police commissioner from Mt. Vernon, New York, and Darryl Perry, a former Honolulu Police Department police major from Mililani. The County Attorney’s Office would not release the name of the third candidate, citing “sensitivity” issues surrounding his present assignment within the federal government.
CPS screened the applicants, and the police commissioners did not interview the candidates directly.
The final three will go through an assessment, and upon completion of that process, the Police Commission will interview the candidates and make their final selection.
“They’re going to go through an assessment process using other police chiefs, along with CPS and its trained staff,” Police Commissioner Thomas Iannucci said. “The candidates seem very motivated. We have a good pool to choose from.”
The county will likely make an offer shortly after the best candidate is chosen, Police Commissioner Carol Furtado said.
“It looks like there’s a very good chance we could make a decision by late August or September,” Furtado said.
The next police chief will have had to have lived in Hawai‘i for a minimum of one year prior to the date of hire — a potential legal snafu that had the American Civil Liberties Union keeping a watchful eye since the onset of the search.
ACLU-Hawai‘i Legal Director Louis Perrin said at the onset of the search that while it’s important for residency to be a factor in the ultimate choice, “it is unconstitutional to preclude all individuals outside of Hawai‘i from the opportunity of even applying.”
But Iannucci said the final candidates are a “good mix” of Mainland and local.
“That was always taken into consideration,” he said of the legality of the residency requirement. “…The residency issue — we’ll deal with it when we deal with it. What we’re looking for is the best candidate.”
Though the requirement could potentially mean the county would have to wait as much as a year for its new department head, Furtado said, “I’m just glad it’s almost over. We’re finally heading into the home stretch here.”
