Hawaii Police Department School Resource Officer Paul Mangus received top honors Wednesday for his diligence investigating a 2011 child abuse case in Kealakehe.
Mangus, a six-year member of the department who has spent the past four years working within West Hawaii schools, said he was proud to have received the Kona Officer of the Year award. He also commended his fellow officers.
“These officers not only do their job, but they take pride in what they do,” he said after receiving the award. “And, it’s not just a job, we really take to it and make it part of our lives.”
Mangus was selected from 12 officers as Kona Officer of the Year by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee during a luncheon held at King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel. He received various gift certificates to restaurants and businesses as well as other goodies.
He was named Officer of the Month in August 2011 for his work investigating a January report of child abuse in Kealakehe that resulted in various charges filed against the boy’s mother and her boyfriend, who was a teacher at Kealakehe Intermediate School.
Mangus earned the title for his investigation after being contacted by a Kealakehe Intermediate School counselor reporting an instance of suspected child abuse, according to the Hawaii Police Department. The victim’s sister reported the abuse to the school.
The girl, according to police, told Mangus that her brother had “gotten the crap beaten out of him” and was probably still zip-tied to a toilet.
He immediately contacted Community Policing Officers Darren Cho and Brent Foster to follow up on the report. The officers then went to the child’s home where they found the boy in the bathroom with injuries to his back, legs, stomach and wrists.
The mother and boyfriend were arrested and subsequently charged with numerous offenses including second-degree assault, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, second-degree unlawful imprisonment.
The boyfriend, Clifford Fabacher, ultimately pleaded guilty to abuse of a family or household member and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, according to court records. He was sentenced to two years probation and 180 days in jail.
The mother, whom West Hawaii Today is not naming to protect the youths’ identities, pleaded guilty to second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree unlawful imprisonment. She was sentenced to one year of probation and 15 days in jail, according to court records.
The committee, formed in 1971, strives to encourage community involvement in aiding and supporting area police officers. Annually, its board members select an officer of the year from a group of officer of the month candidates recommended by supervisors, and in one case this year by co-workers, at Kealakehe Police Station.
