HONOLULU — Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha received an above average job performance rating from the police commission, despite recent issues involving his leadership and family.
The Honolulu Police Commission, which appoints and removes city chiefs, determined Kealoha in 2014 exceeded expectations.
The commission reappointed Kealoha to another five-year term last year.
The review released earlier this week is the third year in a row that Kealoha received the above average rating, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Friday.
“He was able to address every major issue that came up with the department at the same time while going through his personal family issues,” Commission Chairman Ron Taketa told the newspaper.
Kealoha’s family issues were aired in court recently.
In a federal trial, his wife’s uncle, Gerard Puana, was accused of stealing the mailbox at the Kealohas’ former Kahala home. In a civil trial, a jury sided with his wife in a lawsuit accusing her of stealing money from her uncle and 95-year-old grandmother.
The federal case ended in a mistrial after Kealoha provided improper testimony about Puana’s criminal history.
Kealoha was the second witness on the first day of the trial and was being asked about how he could identify Puana in blurry surveillance footage that showed a man hoisting the mailbox into a car.
Kealoha said the man in the video looked the way Puana looked when he was charged with breaking into a neighbor’s home. His response prompted the judge to declare a mistrial.
The case, which was later dropped, raised allegations of police misconduct.
Another controversy involved an off-duty officer seen in surveillance video punching a woman at a restaurant. There was no police report filed by officers who responded, and the woman in the incident said it was horseplay. An internal investigation is ongoing, said department spokeswoman Michelle Yu.
Taketa said commissioners considered that incident to be one of the issues Kealoha could have handled better.
The commission’s assessment found that Kealoha declined in the areas of leadership and community relations.
In an email to the newspaper, Kealoha credited his positive review to department employees, other city departments and community partners.
Kealoha earns about $164,000 a year.