Lobbyist To Head Police Commission
Max Sword will take the helm of the embattled agency,聽which has been undergoing a shake-up in recent months by the influx of new blood.
Tourism industry lobbyist Max Sword was named as the new chairman of the Honolulu Police Commission on Wednesday.
Sword, who works for Outrigger Enterprises Group, will replace Ron Taketa, a long-time police commissioner whose term expired at the end of 2015. Taketa is head of the Hawaii Carpenter’s Union.
The police commission has been criticized in recent years for being soft on tackling officer misconduct.
It鈥檚 also been slapped around for its refusal to take action against Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha, who is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for corruption and abuse of power.
It鈥檚 unclear how Sword will respond to to the criticism. He鈥檚 been on the commission since 2009, when he was appointed by then-mayor Mufi Hannemann.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell reappointed Sword to a five-year term in June, saying at the time that he valued his insight into how the police interact with tourists and the businesses that cater to them.
But Caldwell has also added new voices to the commission, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Loretta Sheehan, who has been an outspoken critic of the how the commission has responded to various allegations of misconduct.
Caldwell also recently appointed former Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice Steven Levinson to the commission.
