10 things Honolulu needs from its new police chief

ACLU to Honolulu Police Commission: Appointment of new police chief is opportunity for police to regain the trust of the people they serve.

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaiʻi’s legal director Mateo Caballero sent a letter to the Honolulu Police Commission outlining 10 crucial questions that the next police chief will need to be able to answer satisfactorily before the embattled department can begin to regain public trust. 

“Nothing will determine such trust more than the next chief’s commitment to civil rights and civil liberties,” Caballero wrote.

An intensifying corruption probe into former police chief Louis Kealoha and his wife Katherine, a city prosecutor, along with an increasing awareness among the public surrounding police misconduct nationally, have focused attention on the need for dramatic reforms in both policing and corrections in the criminal justice system, as well as the mistrust abuses have sown within the community.

The charter for the City and County of Honolulu establishes:

“…a system of law enforcement which shall be based on due regard for the constitutional rights of all persons, which shall promote the highest possible degree of mutual respect between law enforcement officers and the people of the city and which shall provide for the expeditious apprehension of those who violate the law.” 

— Revised Charter of the City & County of Honolulu § 6-1602. 

Unlike the Honolulu City Prosecutor, a publicly-elected position, the police chief is appointed by the police commission. And neither the city charter nor the city’s revised ordinances list specifics on how this mission should be carried out, leaving a great deal of discretion up to the chief administrator of the police.

Here’s what Honolulu needs from its next police chief according to the ACLU:

1. Guarantee the right of free speech and the right to protest in all policies, procedures and training; provide oversight and demand accountability from all officers. The Police must not interfere with these rights in public places. The police must never engage in mass arrests, use surveillance technology on protesters, or use military-grade equipment to control crowds. The police must respect the public’s right to record them, and must always seek to de-escalate tensions between protesters and officers.

2. Adopt and implement 21st century policing practices including minimal force de-escalation tactics and diversion programs such as law enforcement assisted diversion:

   • In December, 2014, President Barack Obama established the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The task force was charged with identifying best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust. In May 2015, the task force issued a comprehensive report identifying several recommendations, each with action items, organized around six main topic areas: Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology and Social Media, Community Policing and Crime Reduction, Officer Training and Education, and Officer Safety and Wellness.

   • See also Police Executive Research Forum, Guiding Principles on Use of Force.

   • The Hawaiʻi State Legislature recently appropriated funds for a law enforcement assisted diversion (“LEAD”) pilot program in Hawaiʻi. See also LEAD National Support Bureau website. (“In a LEAD® program, police officers exercise discretionary authority at point of contact to divert individuals to a community-based, harm-reduction intervention for law violations driven by unmet behavioral health needs.”) 

   • The ACLU of Hawaiʻi is part of a coalition led by the Chow Project trying to bring this pre-arrest and pre-booking diversion program to Hawaiʻi. See The Chow Project website.

3. Adopt policies and mandatory training to ensure that no police official will interrogate, arrest, surveil, detain or take other law enforcement action against an individual based solely or primarily upon that individual’s perceived race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, language, wealth, homelessness, or immigration status.

4. Terminate all policies that encourage mass incarceration and work to reduce overcrowding in Oʻahu’s jails and prisons by supporting smart justice initiatives that reduce incarceration rates, improve the conditions of confinement, focus on rehabilitation, and reduce recidivism.

5. Refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, including refusing to honor Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, refusing to participate in the 287(g) program, and refusing to engage in federal immigration enforcement.

6. Support an open, transparent and well-informed process with meaningful public input at the Honolulu City Council regarding the acquisition and utilization of surveillance technologies by the police.

7. Guarantee the rights to due process, to counsel, to remain silent, and to security against unreasonable searches and seizures. Police must not stop someone without reasonable suspicion or arrest someone without probable cause. Police must not search a person or their property without a warrant, whenever such warrant is required. Police must always inform a person of their Miranda rights. Police must always be honest and truthful in court, follow proper procedures in taking law enforcement actions, and turn over all exculpatory evidence to the prosecuting attorneys so that it can be disclosed to the defense.

8. Demilitarize the police force by imposing meaningful restraints and by adopting best practices on the use of SWAT and similar tactical teams, and by ensuring that there is civilian oversight over the acquisition of military style weapons and vehicles.

9. Ensure that the public knows how the police department functions, including through improved data collection in electronic form and the adequate disclosure and reporting of all incidents involving the use of force, the use and deployment of surveillance technology, the use of body cameras, and confirmed incidents of police misconduct.

10. Address civil asset forfeiture abuse by: 

    • Supporting legislation to require a criminal conviction of the underlying offense prior to forfeiture (but not prior to seizure);

    • Voluntarily reporting expenditures of any and all funds procured through the Honolulu Police Department’s participation in civil asset forfeiture (including through the Department’s cooperation with federal agencies); and 

    • Instructing law enforcement officers that the mere act of carrying a large amount of cash alone cannot satisfy probable cause for the seizure of property pursuant to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Section 712A-6.

“As our community faces enduring and new challenges, the role of the new chief of police in helping or hurting each individual’s fundamental rights under the Hawaiʻi and United States constitutions cannot be overstated,” Caballero wrote. “The new chief will need to ensure that the people’s right of free speech and the right to protest are respected. The new chief will also play a key role in guaranteeing the rights to due process, counsel, remain silent, and being secure against unreasonable searches and seizures. 

“As military-grade equipment and more intrusive surveillance tools become available, the new chief will decide whether and how the police department should use these tools. Similarly, as police body camera programs are adopted, the chief will decide on the final procedures and rules that will ensure both transparency and accountability. The new chief of police will also need to decide whether and to what extent the police department will cooperate with the Trump administration’s priorities, such as drug and immigration enforcement, to the detriment of local priorities, such as community policing, law enforcement assisted diversion, and drug treatment.

“Finally, the new chief of police will set the culture and enforcement priorities of the department and, thus, ultimately be either part of the problem or the solution in addressing prison overcrowding and the overrepresentation of Native Hawaiians, the homeless, the poor, and other minorities in our correctional system. For these reasons, the appointment of a new chief of police is a powerful moment for rebuilding the trust in the police department’s leadership and mission.”