A Hawaiian Airlines pilot who helped capture a purse thief has been awarded the Honolulu Police Department’s civilian certificate of merit.
Paul Morgan and several police officers were honored last week by Police Chief Louis Kealoha, who presented the department’s third highest award — the Bronze Medal of Valor — to Officer Kerwin Unten.
On April 29, the police citation said, Morgan was sitting outside a restaurant at the Koko Marina Shopping Center with a friend when a juvenile male grabbed a female’s purse and ran toward Kalanianaole Highway. Morgan chased the suspect across the highway and back to the shopping center, where he grabbed and held him until officers arrived.
Morgan also found the purse in a nearby parking lot. The juvenile suspect was arrested on suspicion of theft and truancy.
Unten, who was off duty, helped rescue a couple from a burning car in Aiea.
On Feb. 8, 2013, Unten was near his home when he heard a building maintenance worker yelling for help.
Unten, along with Asher Murro, Cornelio Nolasco, Dennis Buenaventura and Lino Nolasco, ran toward the screams coming from the third floor of the parking structure and saw the couple in a vehicle that was engulfed in flames, police said.
Unten unlocked the car door and pulled the couple out while the four civilians extinguished the flames. For their role in the rescue, the four men also received civilian certificates of merit.
Police dispatchers Naomi Uyeshiro and Marsella Eberhardt, along with police operator Susan Jay, were recognized for helping to save a mother’s life when her 4-year-old daughter made a frightened call to 911.
Uyeshiro guided the 4-year-old through a stressful situation that may have saved her mother’s life on April 18.
Jay received a call from the child stating that her mother was lying on the floor and shaking. Jay transferred the call to Uyeshiro, who was unable to get an exact location from the young caller, who was using a cellphone.
Uyeshiro talked to the girl and asked her to step out of her apartment so that police officers could find her. Around the same time, a second operator, Eberhardt, asked the responding officers to turn on their blue lights so the 4-year-old could see their vehicles.
Within nine minutes, officers located the girl and found her mother lying on the floor, semiconscious and unable to speak. It was later determined that the mother had a pre-existing medical condition.
Uyeshiro received the civilian certificate of merit, and letters of commendation were given to Jay and Eberhardt.
A letter of commendation was given to Officer Lei Ann Yamada for organizing drug recognition expert training and certification for police instructors from the HPD and two other county police departments.
Police said because of Yamada’s efforts 18 students passed the course in five days — much faster than the six months allowed by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines.
The award for employee of the second quarter was given to Cpl. Maxie Navas, who is assigned to District 4 (Kailua-Kaneohe-Kahuku), and in May arrested a theft suspect who was in possession of a 5-gallon gas can, a drill and a drill bit. In the second quarter, Navas also made 18 arrests (including three felony arrests) and issued 35 citations.
District 6’s (Waikiki) First Watch was recognized as the unit of the second quarter.
The First Watch made 780 arrests, including 31 felony arrests and more than 160 drinking and driving arrests. The watch also issued more than 2,200 citations.
