KAILUA-KONA — Sharp eyes, community ties and being streetwise led to the recovery of a stolen pistol and vehicle, and the arrest of a suspect, actions which earned Officer Justin Gaspar the Police Officer of the Month award from the Kona Crime Prevention Committee on Wednesday.
The arrest was in May of 2016, when Gaspar was at Walua Road and Kuakini Highway when he saw a silver Nissan drive by, headed southbound.
He realized that the car had different license plates on the front and back, the commendation reads.
“That’s hard enough with a car standing still, and it was going by,” said Ken Obenski, KCPC president.
Gaspar made a traffic stop and saw the driver.
“This case was kind of hard for me, because he was a childhood friend of mine,” Gasper said, accepting the award at Huggo’s in Kailua-Kona.
Checking the stolen plates revealed they were from two different stolen vehicles. One of those cases involved a stolen pistol as well.
“Any time there is a gun running around the in the community, it’s a concern for us,” Gaspar said, adding that the award was especially humbling given the current climate of tense community-officer ralations across the country.
Gasper, who has won Officer of the Month before, notified other officers about his find. The suspect then drove makai on Lako Street and Gaspar lost sight of the vehicle. But community support helped in the arrest, as a resident waved Gasper down and told him the Nissan was in the Kamani Tree Subdivision.
And Gaspar’s personal connections were also important. After he realized who the suspect was, he called the suspect’s brothers and told them what had happened.
He told the brothers the suspect needed to turn himself in, and the brothers brought the suspect to the station within the hour. The suspect then told police he had taken the pistol, which was recovered.
Gaspar said police work is heavily dependent on community interaction and support. Everyone needs to work together to keep the community safe as police and community members are on the same side.
“We don’t want to be the people who everyone runs away from,” he said.
His superiors praised Gaspar’s efforts, noting this was his fourth award in his six-year career.
Sgt. David Araki recommended Gaspar for the award.
“What you heard was just a snippet of what he normally does,” Araki said.
He’s an exceptional officer, said Captain Randal Ishii of the Kona District.
“We have Harry Callahan,” Ishii said, referring to the Dirty Harry character played by Clint Eastwood. “He’s not dirty, but he’s ours.”
This was the first time that Gaspar’s three children were able to see their father receive one of the awards. Obenski joked that Gasper would need more storage room to house all the hardware.
Gasper’s son said Gaspar is a devoted officer who also makes time for them.
“He’s always there to wake us up in the morning,” he said.
Gaspar’s oldest daughter said she wished that people realized her father was devoted to his job and wants to do the best.