{"id":418,"date":"2026-05-21T11:04:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=418"},"modified":"2026-05-21T11:04:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T11:04:37","slug":"commission-selects-david-lazar-as-honolulus-new-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=418","title":{"rendered":"Commission selects David Lazar as Honolulu\u2019s new police chief"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – After a nearly year-long search, the Honolulu Police Commission chose David Lazar as Honolulu\u2019s next police chief Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Kauai Fire Department holds blessing for new rescue vehicles<\/a><\/p>\n

The announcement came after public testimony and deliberations over three finalists that also included Mike Lambert and Scott Ebner. Lazar received five votes; Lambert received two votes.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement, Lazar said he was \u201cjust a little overwhelmed. Tears of joy. Thankful to God that I have this tremendous opportunity and awesome responsibility to be Honolulu\u2019s next chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lazar is a retired assistant chief from the San Francisco Police Department who worked his way up the ranks over 33 years.<\/p>\n

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His wife\u2019s family is from Kahuku and Halawa, but he himself does not have ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy coming from the outside, and I come from a place where outsiders were not welcome,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I saw an outside chief come to our department, and he was gracious and he was humble and he was respectful, and he worked hard with the men and women of the department to move it forward. That\u2019s my plan as the next chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

He previously told HNN he hopes to bring modernization, transparency and stronger community trust to the Honolulu Police Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may be the future chief, but I\u2019m going to be relying on this team to move the department forward, and I\u2019m going to be there to support them and to come in there and make sure that they feel valued \u2014 that they have autonomy, that they have the tools that they need, that they have the resources they need to be great,\u201d Lazar said.<\/p>\n

Lazar: \u2018I\u2019m in it for the long haul\u2019<\/h1>\n

Despite having already retired after a three-decade career, Lazar said he\u2019s committed to staying in Honolulu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in it for the long haul. I\u2019m in it for many years. I want to go way past the five years, but I want to be clear about something: I want to be the last outside chief of the Honolulu Police Department,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity to really develop the next leaders \u2014 the Mike Lamberts and the command staff that\u2019s behind you and the leaders that are coming up \u2014 so that when we modernize, so that when we\u2019re an agency of best practices, when we have constitutional policing, when we have a high rating of the public really loving what HPD does, that we\u2019re ready for the next chief to come from the inside \u2014 that everybody has been developed so that they can take over and lead. That\u2019s my goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut I\u2019m not going anywhere. As long as you\u2019ll have me, I\u2019ll have you, and I will be here for the long haul because we have a lot of work to do,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Lazar says he\u2019s anxious to get to work, but that won\u2019t happen until early June, after his child\u2019s high school graduation on the continent and other events.<\/p>\n

Read more HPU adds women\u2019s flag football, first collegiate program in Hawaii<\/a><\/p>\n

Search process was \u2018extensive by design\u2019<\/h1>\n

Commission chair Laurie Foster described the search process as inclusive, professional, and thorough.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve tried to make it as transparent as possible, and the overwhelming request of the community was modernization and transformation \u2014 good to great,\u201d she said. \u201dThat\u2019s really what we heard from the community, and that\u2019s what we tried hard to look at with these candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conclusion of all the commissioners was that all three could have run this department effectively, and they are all super candidates. But we had to make a choice,\u201d Foster said.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the finalists underwent individual interviews with the SHOPO Board of Directors and Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. The police commission conducted their interviews on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Lambert, a former Honolulu Police Department major, is in the process of leaving his post as head of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement to return to HPD and secure additional pension payouts.<\/p>\n

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He received overwhelming support in a survey by the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO), the police officers union, at nearly 90%.<\/p>\n

Foster said now, \u201cit\u2019s really up to the community to embrace the new chief and to help \u2014 help the community. That\u2019s what the community wants: modernization and transformation. We\u2019ve made the difficult choice, but that choice has been made. And so we are hoping \u2014 and I think the community will step up \u2014 and help this chief do what he can, with all the skills that he brings. We\u2019re counting on the community to help make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebner was a finalist for the job three years ago and is a retired lieutenant colonel from the New Jersey State Police Department. He most recently served as chief for a department in Georgia. <\/p>\n

All three appeared on the show Insights on PBS \u2014 their only joint public appearance prior to the selection.<\/p>\n

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Each finalist also participated in four panel interviews totaling 30+ community participants that included leaders from the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO), City Council members, community organization leaders and other leaders in the law enforcement community.<\/p>\n

Lazar will replace Arthur \u201cJoe\u201d Logan, who announced his retirement last June amid criticism over a growing vacancy rate and rifts with the police union and mayor.<\/p>\n

Read more Family of man killed in Hawaii Island crash says death was preventable<\/a><\/p>\n

Logan filed a lawsuit against the mayor later that year alleging retaliation.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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