Hawai‘i County Police Commission appoints Reed Mahuna as interim chief
Deputy Chief Reed Mahuna, currently the No. 2 ranked officer in the Hawaiʻi Island Police Department, will step in as interim police chief of the Hawai‘i Police Department, starting on Sept. 1.
The 28-year veteran of the force will handle the top cop duties while the Hawai’i County Police Commission searches for a new chief to replace departing Ben Moszkowicz, whose last day is Aug. 31.

During the Commission’s monthly meeting on Friday, the members voted 6-2 to appoint Mahuna. Commissioners Jacob Tavares and Wendy Botelho opposed the appointment, wanting to solicit letters of interest for the position from within the department.
Manuha, 49, expressed his gratitude to the commission for its support.
“I will not let any of you down in this temporary capacity,” Mahuna said.
His appointment comes after Moszkowicz’s retracted letter of resignation was not accepted by the commissioners during a special meeting on July 10.
Moszkowicz, who took over the department in December 2022, submitted his resignation on June 4 in order to become interim chief of the Honolulu Police Department. He did so after Honolulu City and County Mayor Rick Blangiardi recommended Moszkowicz for the interim position after the unexpected retirement of Joe Logan.
While Moszkowicz rescinded his resignation the same day, he remained a candidate for the interim position with Honolulu. Both actions raised questions by some about his loyalty to the Big Island.
Mahuna was named Acting Deputy Chief on July 1, 2023, and permanently appointed as Deputy Police Chief on Jan. 16, 2024.
Mahuna also served as Major of Area I Operations, overseeing the Criminal Investigation Division, which includes vice, juvenile aid and the criminal investigation sections, as well as the crime lab.
He has also served as Major of the Technical Services Division, which includes the department’s communications dispatch center, communications maintenance section, computer center, records and identification section, and traffic services section.
During the Friday police commission meeting at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center in Kona, several testifiers spoke about finding a chief who will cancel agreements with Immigration and Customs and Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations.
Testifiers overwhelmingly said the Memoranda of Understanding, also known as MOUs, erode trust with the community and Hawai‘i Island police.
“A successful police chief needs a combination of strong leadership skills, deep law enforcement knowledge, and the ability to foster positive community relationships,” one testifier stated. “Key qualities include integrity, communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to ethical conduct and accountability.”
The testifier continued that the community needs a police chief dedicated to the Big Island’s unique mix of people and concentrating on the needs and safety of residents.
“Assisting the whims of federal immigration agencies like ICE … erodes trust within immigrant and other communities who agree that Hawaiʻi is a melting pot of immigration,” the testifier stated. “When local police are seen as extensions of federal immigration enforcement, residents and others become less likely to seek police protection when it is actually needed.”

Another testifier thanked the commissioners for making “the necessary decision” to remove Moszkowicz. She continued: “That was the right step, but it did not end there.”
“Today, I’m urging you to ensure the new police chief protects our people over collaborating with ICE,” the testifier stated. “Let’s be very clear about what is happening. Families are being racially profiled, hunted and kidnapped, often through deceptive welfare checks or traffic stops.”
In June, Moszkowicz confirmed the police department has two memorandums of understanding with the Homeland Security Investigations, one that allows them to share office space with two special agents when they work with them on drug and human trafficking cases and the other authorizes the department to have task force officers cross-deputized for specific enforcement relating to drugs and violent crimes.
Moszkowicz clarified at that time that these agreements do not include civil immigration enforcement.
“I have publicly committed that the Hawai‘i Police Department will not sign any 287(g) agreements with the Department of Homeland Security,” Moszkowicz said in June. “Our commitment remains to keep people safe, protect their rights and provide whatever humanitarian support we can to anyone in Hawai‘i. We have not, do not and will not conduct civil immigration enforcement.”
Tavares said it is clear the community wants a transparent and open process in the selection of the interim and permanent police chief.
“We need to find someone who is just going to be totally passionate about it, who’s going to eat, slee, and digest this job,” Botelho added.
Other commissioners expressed a desire to focus their time and energy on finding a permanent chief.
Commission Vice Chair John Bertsch said if the body solicits letters of interest and goes through taking testimony and interviewing candidates for the interim position, it could create more frustration for the public and may not be in their best interest.
“I think we might be creating more confusion and possibly more anxiety in doing that two-step process as opposed to focusing all our efforts on the permanent chief,” Bertsch said.
Commission Chair Rick Robinson said if the commissioners were to go through the process of accepting applications for the interim position, it would energy spent on someone who would potentially only be chief for three months.
The bottom line for Botelho is finding the right person for the interim job.
“If it takes us a lot of time, then it takes a lot of time,” she said, referring to the selection of the interim chief. “It’s not going to be done quickly. I want to take my time.”
With the appointment of Mahuna, the commission will discuss the process in searching for a new chief during its Aug. 22 meeting.
After the meeting, Mahuna said the concerns testifiers voiced during the Friday meeting were also his concerns.
“We are all in this together,” Mahuna said. “I have to make sure that they feel comfortable in trusting their police department.”
With the loss of faith in Moszkowicz following his resignation and attempted retraction, Mahuna knows he will have to reach out to stakeholders and affirm his support and commitment to the community.
“They have to know how I feel about certain things,” said Mahuna, who was born and raised on the Big Island. “What they’ll find is that in a lot of ways we agree on a lot of issues.”
Mahuna said he does intend to apply for the permanent position as chief when the time comes.