Two Hawaii Police Department officers were discharged and eight received suspensions ranging from one to 21 days in 2022, the department’s annual disciplinary report to the state Legislature revealed.
Police departments throughout the state are required to submit annual reports to the Legislature describing suspensions and terminations for the prior year. Officers who break the rules are counseled or receive additional training or reprimands before the department resorts to suspensions.
The 2022 disciplinary report compares to 2021 when five officers were fired and 21 others were suspended without pay. The 2021 report, however, included infractions from 2020 in which investigations and the convening of the Administrative Review Board did not occur until 2021.
“Every year, we will do an assessment of the discipline and the grievances,” said Assistant Chief Andrew Burian. “This year was pleasantly lower. As a police department, you understand the need for discipline but you always hope that you are not going to have many.”
Burian credited fellow assistant chiefs Kenneth Quiocho and Chad Basque for focusing on training as far as use of force and getting a consistent format to document. He also believes the use of body cameras has played an important role in reducing use of force complaints.
“Our hope is that we are going to correct behavior. It’s not about punishing the officer. In the long run it’s about protecting the department and protecting the officer,” he said.
Of the eight officers suspended, two were for failing to follow the department report writing procedures, one failure to follow evidence procedures, one operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, one failure to follow investigative procedures, two use of force/mistreatment of a prisoner and one conduct while off duty brought the department into disrepute.
The longest suspension was 21 days for use of force.
The two officers discharged, John Chiquita IV and Matthew Bennett, each resigned in 2021 before formally being discharged in 2022.
Chiquita, who was on the force for less than two years, was charged with abuse of family or household member and conduct while off duty brought the department into disrepute. His case was referred to the prosecutor and is currently in Family Court with trial slated in March.
Bennett, who had nine years on the force, was discharged for failing to follow orders. No additional details were released.
“As the report is published annually for the Hawaii legislature, it allows us to take a snapshot in time of the discipline administered over the previous year. My goal is to take a look at this year’s report, compare it with the specifics in previous years’ reports, and look for trends,” said Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz. “Keep in mind, the incidents that end up in this report tend to be the most severe. As police commanders, we are also continuously looking at less serious incidents and making adjustments and improvements to operations, and more importantly training, to get our officers the tools they need to help keep the public safe while maintaining a professional demeanor.”
The new chief has been getting out and talking to commanders, and says he sees opportunity to build on the years of success the department has had in terms of self-improvement.
“The personnel assigned to our Office of Professional Standards (OPS) to a fantastic job of remaining impartial and conducting thorough investigations that serve as the basis for our commanders to take appropriate action in response to both internal and external complaints. I feel confident we can always improve the efficiency of our investigations and look forward to seeing what I can do as the chief to help OPS with that opportunity,” he said.
The cornerstone of policing in America is the ability of the public to trust the police, he said.
“I would hope the public understands the idea that the police department takes misconduct seriously, and is not afraid to act in their best interest to keep it from recurring,” Moszkowicz said. “Also, I hope the public recognizes the additional transparency and scrutiny that come with being a police officer. No other profession is asked to turn over discipline records for public and legislative inspection. Police are entrusted by the community and given a lot of power to maintain order and keep the public safe; with this comes the responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
Moszkowicz encourages members of the public to participate in the upcoming Community Engagement Survey during the month of February “to let us know what we’re doing well, and where we can continue to improve. In the spirit of transparency, we are also committed to sharing the results of the survey with the public once it is completed.”