HILO — Only one candidate will be considered by the Hawaii County Police Commission to succeed Police Chief Harry Kubojiri, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Ferreira was the only individual from among 13 who applied by the Nov. 22 deadline who met the minimum qualifications, according to Gabriella Cabanas, recruitment supervisor for the county’s Department of Human Resources.
“We did the recruitment for the Hawaii County Police Commission,” Cabanas said Monday.
Cabanas said the names of all applicants are confidential, but Ferreira authorized the Police Commission to release his name.
Josie Pelayo, the commission secretary, said the meeting will be at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Department of Liquor Control at the Hilo Lagoon Center, 101 Aupuni St., Suite 230.
That meeting will be in addition to the regular monthly commission meeting on Dec. 16, Pelayo said. The meeting itself will be open to the public, but the commission’s interview of Ferreira will be in executive session, which means it will be held behind closed doors.
Cabanas said only the minimum qualifications were considered in the decision on whether or not the applicant was qualified for the chief’s position, which pays $130,818 a year. According to the county’s job posting, those are: U.S. citizenship; Hawaii resident for one year; minimum of five years training and experience in law enforcement work, including three in a responsible administrative capacity with a ranking of captain or higher; a valid Hawaii driver’s license; and qualified to carry and possess firearms and ammunition in accordance with state and federal laws, which means no domestic violence convictions.
According to the Hawaii Police Department website, Ferreira joined the force in July 1982. He worked as a patrol officer and detective and had several positions in the department’s Administrative Bureau before becoming its assistant chief in 2007. That position gave him responsibility over the department’s finances, personnel, training, safety, records, dispatch, communications maintenance, computer center, traffic services and non-tactical activities of the Special Response Team, the department’s SWAT unit.
Ferreira was confirmed as deputy chief, the department’s No. 2 officer, on Dec. 30, 2008.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.