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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Deputy Chief Rade Vanic attends Honolulu Police Commission meeting this afternoon when he was selected as interim chief of the department
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STAR-ADVERTISER / JAN. 25, 2022
Then-interim Honolulu police Chief Rade Vanic addresses the media at a news conference in 2022. The Honolulu Police Commission today chose Vanic, currently a deputy chief, to once again fill in as interim chief after Joe Logan retires at the end of the month.
The Honolulu Police Commission picked Deputy Chief Rade K. Vanic to serve as interim chief of the Honolulu Police Department this afternoon.
Vanic was unanimously selected by the seven member commission to replace Arthur “Joe” Logan, who retires at the end of the month. Vanic served as interim police chief when Susan Ballard retired in June 2021.
Commissioners decided to follow the city charter and name the next-highest ranking officer to serve as the interim rather than Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s recommendation to have Hawaii island police Chief Benjamin T. Moszkowicz serve as the interim while applying for the permanent job.
Commissioners questioned the wisdom of putting the department through two leadership transitions.
“If the current leader steps down, you don’t invent a new process to search for an interim chief,” said commissioner Doug Chin, a former state Attorney General.
Vanic and Logan’s leadership team are familiar with the strategic plan adopted by the commission and can run the department while the selection process plays out, commisioners said.
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Commission Chair Kenneth Silva thanked the eight applicants for their five-minute pitches to the panel.
“Being in law enforcement, that’s not an easy go,” Silva said after the vote. “We are very appreciative of the fact that you prepared and put yourself out there. You helped us through this process so we can think through the best path forward.
The other applicants were retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Thomas K. Aiu; HPD Maj. Ryan T. Hironaka; HPD Deputy Chief Keith K. Horikawa; former Maui Police Department Lt. Wayne K. Ibarra; HPD Assistant Chief Brian Lynch; Hawaii Police Chief Benjamin T. Moszkowicz; and HPD Capt. Clifford K. Ramson.
Moszkowicz, a former major with 22 years at HPD, was one of four finalists for chief when Logan, 66, was selected May 23, 2022. Aiu also applied to be HPD’s 12th chief. Vanic served as the interim chief for nearly a year before Logan took over.
On June 2, Blangiardi announced Logan’s retirement after the mayor made it known that he wanted new leadership.
Logan, 66, a St. Louis School graduate who holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College and a bachelor’s degree in Justice Administration and Management from Hawaii Pacific University, will retire June 30.
Vanic starts as interim chief July 16.
Blangiardi does not have the authority to hire or fire the police and fire chiefs but plans to introduce an amendment to the city charter to give that authority to the office of the mayor.
Blangiardi made a “strong recommendation” to the seven mayoral appointees who make up the commission that Moszkowicz be named interim chief.
Moszkowicz did not step down from his current position before today’s decision.
