The days of a police department staffed with the likes of John A. Burns or Francis Keala are long gone, but it is certainly time for those running the Honolulu Police Department to think again about how it is going.
This is not a police department wracked with racial tensions so deep that people die. We do not have a police department that fears its citizens, nor one that terrorizes those it is sworn to protect.
That said, we do have a police department that promoted someone convicted of terroristic threatening of his wife, a police department that routinely only tests 15 to 20 percent of the rape kits and has 1,500 untested kits that contain the forensic evidence gathered from sexual assault victims, and a police chief who is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation launched by the FBI.
It is the Hawaii version of water torture. Every day some new troubling news hits, wearing away the public’s trust, but never enough to say, “Throw them out,” “Throw them in jail” or just “Deal with this.”
The latest is the strange case of Police Maj. Ryan Borges, who despite a more-than-20-year-old conviction for terrorizing his then-wife was promoted to assistant chief.
Critics, such as Senate Vice President Will Espero, raised concerns especially after Borges circulated a letter saying Espero “has a personal agenda and is using the Honolulu Police Department as a vehicle to pursue his selfish ambitions.”
Borges went on to ask, “If the Holy Spirit speaks to you, can you please write a short character reference letter for me. All I need you to write is that you know that I walk with the Lord now and that you fully support my promotion.”
At the same time, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell announced that he had met with Chief Louis Kealoha to “discuss the decision to promote Major Borges, expressing his strong concerns and requesting additional information about past incidents.”
Then on Wednesday, Borges, who was given a pardon by former Gov. Ben Cayetano in 2001, rejected the promotion, saying, according to Kealoha, that, “He does not want the recent controversy to continue to be a disruption and detract from the positive work that the department does.”
In reaction, Espero said Borges did the proper thing.
“I know there are several fine officers who would make a great assistant chief,” he said.
It is not known if Caldwell’s expression of concern made any impact. In December, he also asked Kealoha to open up about the FBI investigation.
“I’ve actually told the chief, perception becomes reality,” Caldwell told Hawaii News Now. “I’ve encouraged him from time to time to step out and say more. That’s about as much as I can do as mayor.”
While defending Borges, Kealoha said, “We’ve all made mistakes in our lives, but what’s important is what we do afterwards.”
That’s one homily, but for Kealoha and HPD, doing tomorrow what they should do today is not good enough.
———
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser. com
