Hawai’i County police chief apologizes for his ‘premature’ resignation; hopes to keep his job

Hawai‘i Island Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz issued a public apology on Thursday for submitting a resignation letter to pursue the interim chief opening at the Honolulu Police Department, at the direct request of Honolulu City and County Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

Moszkowicz rescinded the resignation letter only hours later, but still remained a candidate for interim chief. Now, after he was not chosen for the job by the Honolulu Police Commission, Moszkowicz is fighting to remain chief on Hawaiʻi Island.

While Moszkowicz has support from the chair of the Hawaiʻi Island Police Commission and others, he also was dealt a blow on Thursday when the State of Hawai‘i Organization of Police Officers said it thinks the chief is not loyal to the Big Island and should be let go.

Mark Arnold, business agent for the Hawai‘i Island Chapter of the union known as SHOPO, said he doesn’t dislike Moszkowicz and believes his apology is sincere, but that the chief already lost the loyalty of the officers.

“As a union official, I have to support that,” Arnold said. “He’s demonstrated he’s willing to leave at a moment’s notice.”

The Hawaiʻi Island Police Commission is holding a special meeting on July 10 in Hilo when Moszkowicz will answer questions about his resignation and withdrawal. At that time, Commission Chair Rick Robinson said the nine-member body would consider whether to accept the withdrawal of his resignation.

The Commission initially discussed the matter at its last meeting on June 20, but Moszkowicz did not attend. He said he had a prior family commitment on Kauaʻi. Moszkowicz came within one vote of losing his job.

The Commission voted 4-3 not to accept the retraction of his resignation, but a 5-2 vote was needed. The Commission then voted unanimously to hold the special meeting to allow Moszkowicz to address their concerns.

Arnold said the union will respect the process.

Whatever the police commission decides, Moszkowicz said the officers and the department deserve committed leadership.

“To me, at this point, my heart and commitment are here,” Moszkowicz said. “I understand I have some work to do with the police commissioners and explain my decisions.”

Moszkowicz pledged to be the police chief on the Big Island for years to come.

“I want to stay here,” he said on Thursday during an interview with Big Island Now. “I’m not going to apply to be the permanent chief anywhere else.”

Moszkowicz said he did not seek the job at the department where he worked for 22 years.

Instead, it began with a phone call he received at his office on May 30 from Blangiardi: “It was strange,” Moszkowicz said. “I’ve only talked to him once or twice in my life.”

Moszkowicz said Blangiardi told him that he had talked to the police commission about the replacement of Honolulu Police Chief Logan, who was going to be announcing his retirement soon.

Blangiardi told him there was no one in place at the department to fill in for Logan per Honolulu County’s charter, which indicates the deputy chief “with the most experience” could serve as acting police chief.

At the time, Moszkowicz said one of the deputy chiefs at the Honolulu Police Department was set for retirement and Deputy Chief Rade Vanic was out on leave.

“(Blangiardi) asked if I would be willing to step in,” Mozkowicz said.

On June 2, Logan announced his retirement, which was unexpected to most people on Oʻahu. Logan and Blangiardi had major differences, according to multiple news reports.

On the same day, Blangiardi said in a news conference that he strongly recommended that Moszkowicz “come back to Honolulu” to serve as interim chief, effective July 16.

On June 4, Moszkowicz submitted his resignation, effective July 15. But only hours later, he rescinded his resignation, saying he ultimately wanted to stay and serve the Big Island.

Last week, the Honolulu Police Commission unanimously picked Vanic to serve as the department’s interim chief.

Moszkowicz said no one promised him a job, but he was encouraged to apply for the interim position by both Blangiardi and Kenneth Silva, the chair of the Honolulu Police Commission.

“Initially, I thought it was the right move,” Moszkowicz said. “Ultimately, I made a mistake, and I can’t hide from it. I’m trying to correct it as best I can.”

Robinson said he’s been happy with Moszkowicz, saying: “I think he’s done a good job and worked hard in his time here.”

Moszkowicz had a performance review in January, where Robinson said he received good marks. He specifically noted the chief’s support for his officers, with every commission meeting including the chief’s commendations for officers.

Robinson said he has been impressed with Moszkowicz’s year-round recruitment efforts to grow the department, which historically has had a large number of vacancies.

Robinson and Moszkowicz said they were surprised the union was not supportive of the chief keeping his job.

“Realistically, I believed the relationship with the department and SHOPO was improving,” Moszkowicz said. “Like every relationship, my job is to represent the county, and their job is to defend the rights of their members. It’s disappointing that they don’t think I’m committed.”

Moszkowicz said he reached out to the union following the withdrawal of his resignation letter but hadn’t spoken to anyone regarding it.

Moszkowicz said he is aware of a SHOPO complaint that was filed with the police commission last year, but was not able to speak about it publicly because it is a matter that was only discussed during executive session at the Police Commission meeting in January.

Arnold also wouldn’t go into detail about the complaint, but said it addressed union busting, morale and disparaging treatment between administrators and union members.

After filing the complaint, Robinson said SHOPO hasn’t appeared back at the commission to further discuss the allegations.

Torey Keltner, program manager of Traffic Services at Hawai‘i Island police, submitted testimony for the upcoming commission meeting in support of Moszkowiz, saying on Thursday he felt the resignation/retraction of the resignation was unfortunate but a “momentary stumble.”

In his testimony, Keltner, a civilian employee, said the past few weeks have undoubtedly presented significant challenges for all involved, most notably for Moszkowicz.

“His initial decision to accept the interim position with the Honolulu Police Department raised understandable concerns within our community,” Keltner wrote. “However, I am confident that given the opportunity to revisit that decision, Chief Ben would choose to remain with the Hawai‘i Police Department.”

As a retired senior commanding officer from a law enforcement agency in Montana, Keltner stated he can especially appreciate that Moszkowicz’s decision was driven by a deep sense of loyalty and responsibility to help a struggling agency where he spent 22 years of his professional life.

“That same sense of duty is what makes him such a valuable asset to Hawai‘i County,” Keltner said. “While I did not want to see him leave, I am sincerely grateful for his desire to continue leading our department.

“Chief Ben is an honest, intelligent and deeply committed leader. He is consistently accessible, community-oriented, and thoughtful in addressing complex issues. His forward-thinking leadership strengthened both public trust and the internal development of the department.”

Keltner said the matter should be addressed and moved past as Moszkowicz continues to seek ways to enhance service to the residents of Hawai‘i County and the dedicated men and women of the Hawai‘i Police Department.

But one union member, who has worked as a police officer on the department for 16 years, said he no longer thinks Moszkowicz is not the right person to lead the department.

The officer spoke on the condition that he remain anonymous to avoid retaliation from his superiors. He went on to say everyone knew Moszkowicz’s longterm goal was to be chief on O‘ahu.

“In the beginning, I had high hopes because it was someone from an outside agency,” the officer said.

However, since Moszkowicz has been in charge, the officer said there are discipline problems where some people get punished and others don’t. He’s raised complaints about superiors that have gone unaddressed.

“There’s no support from the upper staff,” the officer said. “Patrol guys are on their own.”

The officer feels the chief’s apology is about trying to save face: “He’s dug himself a hole he can’t get out of.”

Click here to read Moszkowicz’s apology and commitment to Hawai‘i Island in its entirety.