Department Of Law Enforcement Director Resigns
Gov. Josh Green has nominated Honolulu police Maj. Mike Lambert to replace outgoing Director Jordan Lowe.
The director of the state’s Department of Law Enforcement, Jordan Lowe, is resigning.
Lowe, a former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, was appointed to head the fledgling agency in March of 2023.
Gov. Josh Green announced Wednesday that Lowe would be replaced by Honolulu police Maj. Mike Lambert, pending his confirmation by the state Senate.
Green did not give a reason for Lowe’s departure but said Deputy Jared Redulla would serve as interim director until Lambert begins on Feb. 1.
The Department of Law Enforcement has been embroiled in multiple controversies in its short existence, including two separate misconduct investigations involving numerous staffers.
Department spokesman Brooks Baehr declined to comment.
Four deputy sheriffs were placed on paid leave in June after being accused of harassing a Black deputy in training and not reporting the harassment to superiors. Five others were also placed on paid leave that month pending the outcome of a separate investigation, the details of which have not been released by the department.
One of those deputies, Jordan Kagehiro, was found dead at his Honolulu home in August.
In June, Lowe was named in a civil complaint filed by a deputy sheriff claiming former deputy director William Oka sexually harassed female colleagues.
Lowe was appointed to serve as deputy director for law enforcement for the Department of Public Safety in 2020. The Department of Public Safety was dissolved in 2022 under聽, which聽moved the Sheriff Division聽and Narcotics Enforcement Division to the new Department of Law Enforcement and established the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee the state鈥檚 jails and prisons.
“Jordan has played an instrumental role in establishing the Hawai鈥榠 Department of Law Enforcement as a standalone agency, ensuring a strong foundation for its mission of statewide public safety,鈥 Green said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淗is vision, dedication, and meaningful contributions have left an indelible mark on the department, and we thank him for his years of service to Hawai鈥榠.鈥
Lambert serves in the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics Vice Division and in recent years has focused on cracking down on illegal game rooms. He also served on Honolulu’s Gambling Rooms Task Force, which was established by the city in July to come up with policy recommendations for game rooms enforcement.
