Mayor Caldwell nominates Michael Broderick, Doug Chin to Honolulu Police Commission
STAR-ADVERTISER AND COURTESY IMAGES
Michael Broderick and Doug Chin.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell today announced his nominations of former state Attorney General Doug Chin and YMCA CEO and former judge Michael Broderick to the Honolulu Police Commission.
The nominations need to be confirmed by the Honolulu City Council.
Both said they support police reform in the wake of the recent death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, which resulted in one Mineapolis police officer being charged with second-degree murder and three other officers with aiding and abetting. All four officers on the scene were fired the day after Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died May 25 after the white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.
“I think about what’s been happening the last few weeks, just like everybody else,” Chin said. “It’s been moving, it’s been frightening, very sobering … it’s been a very difficult time but I know that through everything that has been happening, there is what I believe is a sea change that’s happening in our country in really helping a lot of us including myself to be able to think about what’s really important and how do we treat every single person, and most importantly, how do we treat all of the people who are marginalized and who are disenfranchised because of discrimination?”
Both also said, however, that they generally support and respect the work of police officers.
Caldwell said a third potential nominee to the all-volunteer, seven-person commission is still being vetted.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Three commission members have left since February — Karen Chang, Steven Levinson and Loretta Sheehan.
Levinson and Sheehan voiced frustration about the limited authority of the commission and a culture among the panel that focused more on supporting rather than scrutinizing the department.
Chang, Levinson and Sheehan all were appointed by Caldwell.
Chin was, for many years, top deputy prosecuting attorney to former Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle. When Carlisle was elected mayor, Chin was his second-in-command there as city managing director.
Broderick said that in the 1990s, he was a liaison for former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley to the Los Angeles Police Commission.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
