Honolulu police commissioners gave Police Chief Joe Logan a mostly positive review during his annual evaluation Wednesday, but recommended for the second year in a row that he improve his department’s communications with the public and the media.
The evaluation focused on Logan’s second year as chief, which ended June 13.
Commissioners praised Logan for his leadership and efforts to change the department’s culture from within. They also noted that they have received “little or almost no” anonymous complaints from department employees. They said the filing of anonymous complaints had been more common under the previous chief, Susan Ballard.
Although the number of vacancies in the department remains at about 400, commissioners praised Logan for his recruitment efforts, citing initiatives such as moving the department to a 13-hour shift schedule three days a week, implementing a hiring incentive for police officers with Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and targeting student-athletes and military personnel for recruitment.
But vacancies at the department’s mid-level ranks, including the corporal and sergeant ranks, need to be addressed, the evaluation said. About half of HPD’s sworn positions are middle management positions, ranging from corporal to lieutenant.
“The chief recognizes the importance of adequate staffing, and recruitment appears to have shown an upward trend over the past year,” the evaluation said. “Overall, leadership has demonstrated an amazing transformation in the approach to new methods of recruiting, training recruits, and entry-level development.”
While the commissioners acknowledged Logan’s efforts to improve communication with the public, they stressed that further improvements are needed.
“The department lacks proactive strategic communications planning and execution and does not provide 24-hour accessibility of information,” the assessment said. “The commission and the chief have also discussed cutting the many levels of approval required before information is made public, resulting in delays in the dissemination of important information. We encourage the chief to prioritize improvements in this area.”
Logan was publicly criticized for police’s lack of communication during an island-wide manhunt on January 1 that ended in a police-involved shootout. Police killed suspect Sidney Tafokitau after he shot two police officers. A bystander later filed a lawsuit against the police department, saying he was beaten by several police officers that day who mistook him for the suspect.
Blangiardi said in his podcast at the time that he was completely taken by surprise by the news of the beating and only found out about it in the press.
“At this point, I couldn’t be more dissatisfied,” he said on the podcast on January 25.
Honolulu City Council President Tommy Waters also criticized the agency at the time for not better informing the public as the situation developed throughout the day, particularly because Tafokitau was considered armed and dangerous. The agency posted an update on social media during the manhunt and pursuit.
Since then, the department has posted more frequently on social media and held regular press conferences after major incidents and shootings involving officers. But commissioners have repeatedly told Logan during commission meetings that he needs to get more information out to the public more quickly to prevent the spread of misinformation.
After a recent police-involved shooting in Waianae, Logan was asked by reporters why it took him so long to hold a press conference. The shooting occurred around 6 p.m. on August 14, and Logan spoke to the media the following day at 1 p.m.
Transparency has been an issue in Logan’s administration since he took over as chief in May 2022. At the time, the department admitted it did not inform the public about Logan’s son’s arrest until his father could be notified.
Last year, when assessing his first 12 months as chief, commissioners also stressed the need for him to communicate more with the public and encouraged him to complete additional media training.
During Wednesday’s commission meeting, which he attended remotely, Logan said he intends to continue working on improving communications.
“I also need to work on our public information … and completely evolve that so that we have a format for strategic communications to get information out front and tell our story,” he said. “We’ve done better than before, but I think we could improve a lot more.”
Logan also said he wanted to boost morale and improve the “negative culture that is deeply ingrained in the department.”
In their assessment, the commissioners awarded the rating “meets expectations” 29 times and “exceeds expectations” 8 times. In no category did they award the rating “below expectations”.
Commission Chairman Doug Chin said commissioners have received consistently positive feedback from other law enforcement officials in the state about Logan’s ability to collaborate and cooperate with other agencies.
However, he also stressed that the ministry must communicate more openly with the public and the media.
“You’re a spokesperson for the department,” he said. “You’re here to provide all of us with information and also to give us a sense of security and show us that law enforcement is taking care of things and we all feel safe.”
