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Joe Becera stood by and watched as Honolulu police officer Vincent Morre punched, slapped and kicked two men inside a Chinatown game room last September.

Becera, 77, was a reserve officer with the Honolulu Police Department at the time. Just this week he pleaded guilty to criminal charges for trying to cover up the attack and lying to the FBI. A second officer, Nelson Tamayori, also pleaded guilty to similar crimes.

But what caught Hawaii Sen. Will Espero’s attention — aside from the egregious misconduct on the part of the three HPD officers — was Becera’s age.

A Hawaii senator asks: At what point does a police officer become too old to work effectively?

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Espero was so concerned, in fact, that he emailed HPD Chief Louis Kealoha on Thursday to question him about Becera and his status as a 77-year-old reserve officer. Specifically, Espero wanted to know what sort of physical and mental training Becera would have had and if there was a mandatory retirement age for police officers.

“In my humble opinion, a 77 year old police officer who could be involved in physical altercations could put the officer and his colleagues in danger,” Espero said.  “I know our elderly residents can still be productive and contribute to society. However, many residents I have spoken to feel 77 years old may be too old to be patrolling and involved in undercover work such as Officer Bercera was.”

Espero added that a statewide police standards and training board would address such issues. Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. without such a board, and Espero has been pushing the Legislature for the past two years to pass a bill to create one.

The board would set minimum standards for all law enforcement officers in the state. It would also serve an oversight function by providing the board with the ability to revoke an officer’s license for misconduct or failing to meet basic training requirements.

“As you know, I have proposed a statewide standards board for all law enforcement in Hawaii,” Espero told the chief. “This is a very good example of a matter the board would address.”

UPDATE:

Assistant Police Chief Dave Kajihiro responded to Espero’s email Thursday, saying that the Americans With Disability Act prevented the department from implementing a mandatory retirement age for officers.

The ADA also doesn’t allow for differing training requirements based on age, Kajihiro said. He also provided the senator with a copy of the department’s .

But the extra information did little to quell Espero’s desire for more dialogue.

“I am hoping my email will trigger a discussion on age limits for police officers who are openly patrolling in the field or who are undercover,” Espero said.

“I have never seen an active duty, non-volunteer officer who looked like he or she was in their 70s.  We have age limits on judges, and the military requires retirement after so many years of service.  I believe age limits should be considered for officers who are in the field with firearms, involved in possible physical altercations, and who are making split second life or death decisions.”