‘Hold me accountable’: New HPD chief outlines his promises, priorities
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new era begins for the Honolulu Police Department as David Lazar was sworn in Thursday as the 13th chief of police.
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“I accept this responsibility with humility and gratitude, and I thank God for this opportunity,” Chief Lazar said in his remarks.
A retired assistant chief with the San Francisco Police Department, he brings 33 years of policing experience, and acknowledges the challenges ahead with recruitment, retention, and evolving the department.
“Today it is not about me. It’s about us and the future of our organization. To the members of our department, what you do is noble, it’s meaningful, it matters,” he said.
With pledges for transparency, integrity, and supporting officers, Lazar vowed to rise to the demands of the role.
“Hold me accountable to doing what is right and getting the work done. To the community, we will build on community trust and transparency by being open and honest,” he said.
When asked about his plans to improve communication with the public, he said in part, “Really just getting the message out and communicating effectively and often with the community. And you’re gonna find as chief, we’ll spend a lot of time together as the media and the department not just me but others in the department.”
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Chief Lazar is an outsider to Hawaii, which was an enticing change for the police commission which selected him six weeks ago.
“The caution was this is an outsider. And can an outsider come to Honolulu and bring that wealth of information, and will the community — both the HPD community and the community at large — will this community accept this outsider?” Honolulu Police Commission chair Laurie Foster said.
Lazar also said he wants to foster talent within the ranks.
“We will build a department over the next several years that will bring forth the next chief from within HPD. I have met the talent, and the talent is here at HPD. You will be ready for the moment as I am today,” he said.
While Lazar was not the first choice for union members, leaders are optimistic.
“We didn’t get the choice that the members wanted. However, now that Lazar is here, let’s see what he has for us,” State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) president Don Faumuina said. “He’s got a lot of modern policing ideas that that we didn’t even think about.”
What Chief Lazar calls his “listening and learning tour” now begins. On the agenda: visiting the 911 operations center, joining the Waianae night watch, and patrolling Waikiki this weekend.
“As a department, we will strive to get it right. And when we don’t, we will acknowledge it and we will learn and be better as an organization,” Lazar added.
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