Honolulu police officers who are members of the state police union overwhelmingly want to see their next chief come from inside the department, according to the results of a survey conducted by the union in July. 

Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said it is important to them that the next chief rose through the ranks of the department, and 73% oppose an external candidate. 

They also stressed they want someone with patrol experience who will prioritize staffing the front line.

But respondents also said they want to see the system of cronyism they perceive within the department dismantled. 

“All of the ‘old boy’ network of current commanders needs to be removed, terminated or forced retirement,” says a quote from the survey, according to a summary presented to the Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday.

Commissioner Ann Botticelli questioned why so many respondents want an internal candidate while simultaneously wanting to change the culture.

“Wouldn’t somebody from inside be part of a certain clique?” she said.

“Not everybody is,” said union spokesman Dustin DeRollo, adding that the survey only reflects respondents’ opinions. “It’s very clear they’re talking about one set of individuals.”

The commission is tasked with finding a new chief since former Chief Joe Logan resigned under pressure last month. 

Logan has since filed a lawsuit against the mayor and the city for whistleblower retaliation and wrongful termination. Logan says Mayor Rick Blangiardi threatened him to force him to resign. Blangiardi denies the former chief’s claims and says he stepped down voluntarily.

Logan is demanding $534,000 in wages he would have earned in the final two years of what was supposed to be a five-year term as chief and $250,000 for emotional distress, attorneys’ fees and other damages. 

Union officials told Civil Beat on Tuesday that they have been disappointed by Logan’s performance as chief, noting that the department’s staffing crisis intensified under his leadership.

Logan was appointed chief in 2022. He had served with HPD from 1982 until 2002, but had been out of police work for two decades by the time he was appointed. After HPD, he served as a major general with the National Guard and then as a criminal investigator with the state Attorney General’s Office. 

Union officials stressed the importance of selecting a chief with patrol experience.

Members who responded to the survey said it’s important to them that the next chief understands what it’s like to be a patrol officer in today’s climate and will prioritize the needs of the front line. During an editorial board meeting at Civil Beat headquarters on Tuesday, Jonathan Frye — chair of the Honolulu chapter of State of Hawaiʻi Organization of Police Officers — said the reasons are simple.

“We want a leader, not a boss,” Frye said. “We want somebody that’s going to help guide this department forward, that understands the hardships that patrol goes through… They remember back 20 years ago, ‘this is how I did things,’ but they weren’t wearing cameras. They weren’t having to deal with the changing environment of policing.”

A majority of survey respondents listed boosting patrol staffing as a top priority for the next chief. 

They also want to see more investment in equipment and facilities, which include “crumbling” buildings, outdated vehicles, and lack of modern tools, such as weapon-mounted flashlights and more functional uniforms. The fact that the department returned nearly $50 million from its budget to the city at the end of last fiscal year instead of investing it in overtime, new equipment or refurbished facilities frustrated some union members, according to the survey.

At the editorial board meeting, Frye said he had been reviewing the infrastructure situation at stations around Oʻahu. “If you go to any station on this island, you’re going to see that there’s gutters falling off the buildings,” he said. “There’s things that are rotting, concrete that’s cracking,”

Respondents said they want a leader who will fix the internal culture of the department by overhauling the promotion system, which they say has not been based on merit. But they also want someone who will advocate for the department to the mayor and City Council and defend officers in the face of scrutiny from the public and the media. 

One of the main sources of friction between Blangiardi and Logan was a disagreement over how Logan handled his relationship with the press. Blangiardi consistently advocated for more information to be shared with the media and criticized Logan for not communicating more both with his office and the public. 

Having good media relations skills was lower on the list of desired qualifications in a chief, according to the survey, but some expressed frustration about the public perception of the department.  

“They are demanding an advocate who will publicly and forcefully defend the department and its officers,” says a survey of the summary findings, written by DeRollo. “This advocacy is expected to be directed at external political pressures, media scrutiny, and other parts of the justice system.” 

Police commissioners voted at their last meeting in July to turn their search for a police chief over to a consultant. The commission faced criticism over the last search, which took nearly a year. Commissioners have vowed to speed up the process this time, but union officials have also stressed the importance of selecting the right candidate for the job.

Deputy Chief Rade Vanic is serving as interim chief. He also served as interim before Logan was appointed.

Commission Chair Ken Silva said commissioners have already started speaking with potential consultants, who all stress the importance of surveying the rank and file about what they want to see in a chief.

“This is a real good starting point for us as far as understanding what’s important to the membership of SHOPO,” he said.