Two weeks ago I wrote about amusing interactions between the public and local police officers. These are the kind of stories that often don’t appear in the newspaper — they’re not really news — but fit perfectly in this column.
My inbox quickly filled up with more reader stories about them. Here are a few.
‘Atta boy’
Don Gerbozy wrote: “In 2020, in stop-and-go traffic, my 2-year-old Toyota Camry XSE was rear-ended near Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua. The impact launched my car into the car in front of me.
“Police were called; a young officer arrived and took everyone’s information. The rear car had extensive damage to the front. My car lost the bottom part of the rear bumper, and the front and hood had extensive damage.
“When the policeman had all the info and made sure everyone was OK, the lead car drove away. He looked at my car and asked if it was drivable. I responded that it appeared to be, except for the damaged pieces.
“The policeman put the rear piece in the back seat of my car, fashioned a rope with his yellow ‘Do not cross line’ tape, tied down the hood and asked for my address in Enchanted Lake. He then turned on his blue roof light and instructed, ‘Follow me.’ We then drove at a slow speed to my front door about 4 miles to Enchanted Lake.
“I parked the car, walked over to him and thanked him for what he did for us. As I recall, his name was officer Grandon Costa. He smiled and drove away.
“When my wife and I sat down in our home, I told her that he did not have to do any of that for us, that his duty ended when he made sure the road was clear, there were no injuries and he had all the info for his accident report. Getting us and our car home was not his job.
“My wife and I agreed he should at least get an ‘Atta Boy’ certificate for an extreme act of kindness.”
Above and beyond
Paul Friel remembers his father taking him to the Kalihi HPD substation to take the learner’s permit test. His father was a retired police sergeant and a private driving instructor.
“Like Wendy Tolleson in the February 10th article, I failed the written exam. The officer did the same thing for me as the one in her story. He told my father something like … ‘Sarge, why don’t you go outside and I’ll take care of this.’
“He gave me an oral quiz and I got my permit. HPD was still a small force then, and my dad was retired a couple of years at that time, so everyone knew each other. I suspect the officer knew I was in for a long ride home if I flunked. Fifty-eight years later I still believe I was my dad’s worst student.
“Empathy and heart were part of a police officer’s DNA back then.” And maybe still are today.
School bus
John Gasidlo said he was a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in November 1973. “As a part-time job, I drove the Japanese- language school bus (an ordinary VW van without any markings) for Honpa Hongwanji on the Pali Highway. It was the most enjoyable job I ever had.
“At 4 p.m. I would pick up about 20 to 25 kids grade three and below. Needless to say, the van was packed, with several kids standing. The kids opened the sliding door to get out at stops, and I checked it after it was closed by a student.
“I was stopped at the traffic light at Kuakini and Liliha streets. As I started to turn left, a 6-year-old girl opened the right back sliding door and fell out into the street. I immediately took her to the Kuakini Hospital emergency room, gave them my name (there were no cellphones then) and asked them to tell the police I would be back around 6 p.m. after I drove the second group (fourth to sixth grade) of students home.
“When I returned to the hospital, I told the two officers what had happened. One asked for my license, which I hadn’t realized had expired. When he looked at it, he said, ‘You better get this renewed before you get in trouble.’ That is an exact quote that is etched in my memory.
“That’s all he said, and he handed my license back to me. Of course, I went and got it renewed the next day.”
My friend’s car
A reader named Tsarkie said, “My pure-Hawaiian maternal grandfather was Peter Pahio, a member of the Hilo Police Department.
“He was famous for never arresting anyone and never writing a ticket. If he came across people fighting, he’d make them sit down, share a meal and talk things out. Then he’d drive them home.
“When parking meters were installed in Hilo town, his captain called him into the office and asked my grandfather if he ever came across any expired meters during the walks in his beat. My grandfather answered that, yes, there were times when he’d come across expired meters. So the captain asked him why he didn’t write out any tickets.
“My grandfather answered, ‘Oh, that’s my friend’s car, so I put a nickel in for them.’ The captain frowned and said, ‘Dismissed.’
“Many people still fondly remember him.”
Your mother is wrong!
Rocky Higgins’ police story dates to August 1968, on the eve of his departure to his first year at a mainland college.
“I had completed my final errands in town and was driving home eastbound on Kalanianaole Highway. As I neared Kalani High School, I noticed that the cars in front of me had all slowed to about 30 to 35 miles per hour, following and matching the speed of a police officer’s car in the far right lane.
“With my final night home with my family waning, I decided to change lanes and slowly pass the police officer and his obedient entourage.
“Just before I got to the Wailupe Fire Station, a police car with flashing lights came up on my back end and pulled me over. I immediately removed my license from my wallet, got out of my car and waited for the officer, maybe 10 years my senior, to approach. I handed him my license, and he greeted me with a question. ‘What is the posted speed limit here on Kalanianaole Highway, Mr. Higgins?’ to which I replied, ‘Forty mph, sir!’
“‘You passed three speed limit signs.’ He repeated the question and I repeated my same answer. Then he instructed me to read out loud the posted speed limit sign just in front of us, and I read out loud, ‘Thirty-five mph, sir!’
“He then asked me why I was going 40 mph, to which I responded that I was told that it was OK to go 5 mph under or 5 mph over the posted speed limit.
“Waving my license at me, the HPD officer politely but firmly and repeatedly demanded to know who told me that. I shrugged my shoulders at first and then finally said, ‘I think it was my mother!’
“He handed me back my license and instructed me to follow the posted speed signs, and then said, ‘Now go home and tell your mother that she is wrong!’”
Drive naked?
Gordon Jay said, “The officer who escorted me for the driver’s license test was Kam Fong Chun, who was a real policeman from 1944-60 and acted as one on ‘Hawaii Five-O’ from 1968 to 1980.
“I flunked the first driver’s test, but what I remember was I asked him if I could drive barefooted. His reply, ‘You can drive naked — no bodda me.’”
Do you have a story about interacting with the police? If so, let me know.
The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join in and be an Insider at Rearview MirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
