HPD facing flurry of transfers
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a major reshuffling of administrators, six of eight Ho-nolulu Police Department patrol districts will be under new commands effective March 19.
The tentative assignments were announced to staff last week. In terms of command changes, it is believed to be one of the biggest in recent memory at HPD. One reason for the changes is to give commanders a chance to experience different duties.
The group of district commanders includes three new majors — Kurt Kendro, Marie McCauley and Janna Mizuo.
Kendro, who in 1992 was the department's Officer of the Year as well as the city's Employee of the Year, will command District 5 (Kalihi), succeeding Maj. Susan Ballard, who has been reassigned to the Training Division. Kalihi will also have a new executive officer in Capt. Moana Heu.
McCauley's command will be District 6 (Waikiki). Maj. Thomas Nitta Jr. moves from Waikiki to command the Criminal Investigation Division, where he succeeds Maj. Mark Nakagawa, who has been reassigned to District 7 (East Honolulu).
Mizuo has been on a fast track since earning promotion to lieutenant in February 2000. She will command District 4 (Kane'ohe, Kailua, Kahuku), which is also getting a new executive officer in Capt. Michael Moses, who fills the vacancy created by Capt. Michael Correa's assignment to the Communications Division.
Maj. Susan Dowsett is leaving the Windward district to head the Traffic Division, while Maj. William Chur is coming from Training to Records & Identification.
District 1 (Central Honolulu) and District 3 (Pearl City) are also getting new commanders.
Maj. Debora Tandal moves from the Records & Identification Division to take command at Pearl City, where she replaces Maj. Randy Macadangdang, who is being reassigned to Central Honolulu. Maj. Kevin Lima, who had been the Central Honolulu commander, had previously been reassigned to head the Narcotics/Vice Division.
Clayton Saito (Internal Affairs) and John Thompson (Informational Technology) will be assigned command positions, effective on their promotions to the rank of major.
Other assignments include recently promoted Capts. Tom Grossi and Robert Green to executive officer positions in Districts 1 and 7, respectively.
Maj. Michael Thomas, District 2 (Wahiawa), and Maj. Michael Tamashiro, District 8 (Kapolei-Wai'anae), will remain at those command positions.
The reshuffling also involves five assistant chiefs: Stephen Watarai, John Kerr, Karl Godsey, Bryan Wauke and Michael Tucker.
Watarai, the longtime Field Operations Bureau's Central Command chief, has been reassigned to head the Special Operations Bureau, which oversees the Specialized Services, Traffic and Central Receiving divisions as well as civil defense and homeland security operations. Central Command, which will be headed by Assistant Chief Michael Tucker, includes the Central Honolulu, Kalihi, Waikiki and East Honolulu patrol districts, all of whom have new commanders.
Tucker, a former District 1 commander, is being succeeded as assistant chief of Field Operations' Regional Command (Wahiawa, Pearl City, Windward O'ahu, Kapolei-Wai'anae patrol districts) by Wauke, who previously commanded the Pearl City district and Traffic Division.
Before becoming police chief, Boisse Correa was the assistant chief in charge of the Regional Command.
Kerr and Godsey are swapping duties as assistant chiefs in charge of the Support Services Bureau and Investigative Bureau, respectively.
Reach Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Assistant Chief Stephen Watarai will head the Honolulu Police Department's Special Field Operations Bureau, which includes the Specialized Services, Traffic and Central Receiving divisions as well as civil defense and homeland security operations. An earlier version of this story included incorrect information.
