HILO — Fewer county police officers were fired or suspended last year compared to the year before, according to an annual report submitted to the state Legislature.
The police misconduct report presented Friday to the county Police Commission indicated two officers, both from West Hawaii, were fired after being arrested in 2015, one for domestic abuse and threatening an on-duty police officer and one for tampering with the scene after being involved in a traffic fatality. Both of those cases are in arbitration.
Eight other officers were suspended for misconduct ranging from improperly filing reports to failing to report to duty to displaying “overbearing conduct.” That compares with three officers fired and 17 suspended in 2014.
Police departments throughout the state are required to submit annual reports to the Legislature describing suspensions and terminations for the prior year.
Disciplined officers’ names are confidential under state law, but a bill moving through the state Legislature would repeal the confidentiality protection afforded under the Uniform Information Practices Act for certain information regarding misconduct of police officers that results in suspension.
Senate Bill 3016 cleared the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs on Feb. 4 and now awaits action in the Judiciary and Labor Committee.
Considering the size of the force, the number of suspensions and terminations aren’t unreasonable, said Police Chief Harry Kubojiri. The department currently has 426 sworn officers.
“It’s a very small percentage of our officers,” Kubojiri said. “Overall, I think our officers are doing a lot better.”
He said most of the cases reflect multiple disciplinary measures to a single officer, with the vast majority of police officers toeing the line. Officers who break the rules are counseled or receive additional training or reprimands before the department resorts to suspensions.
“The whole purpose is to correct their behavior,” he said. “It’s not to provide punishment.”
The Police Commission received and filed the report without comment. But individual commissioners after the meeting praised the department leadership.
“I think the department’s doing really well keeping these matters in hand,” said Police Commission Chairman Guy Schutte. “They’re doing a good job.”
“We have a good set of procedures for conduct,” added Commissioner Peter Hendricks.
One of the terminated officers was 30-year-old Jody Buddemeyer, an on-duty officer arrested March 1, after being involved in what the Hawaii Fire Department called a hit-and-run that killed a bicyclist on Waikoloa Road in South Kohala. His criminal case remains with the county Prosecutor’s Office, police say.
The bicyclist, identified by police as Jeffrey C. Surnow, 63, was found lying face down near a “severely damaged” bicycle on the shoulder of the eastbound lane of Waikoloa Road, near mile marker 11, according to fire department personnel who responded about 6:30 a.m. The rescue personnel determined that the West Bloomfield, Michigan, man had died prior to their arrival and handed the investigation over to police.
The officer was terminated on administrative charges after being arrested for being in a fatal collision with a bicyclist, removing physical evidence from a crime scene and providing false information after being involved in a traffic collision, according to the report.
The second arrested officer was Sgt. Marvin Kelly Troutman Sr., who headed the department’s Area II Traffic Enforcement Unit. Troutman, a 21-year veteran of the force, was arrested following a domestic dispute at a Kapaau home Jan. 29, 2015. Troutman, in a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. The remaining three charges were dropped.
The misconduct report said an officer was terminated for abuse of family members and threatening physical harm to an on-duty police officer.