The Honolulu Police Commission today selected three experienced law enforcement leaders — from New Jersey, San Francisco and Hawaii — as finalists to serve as the city’s 13th police chief.

Retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. Scott Ebner, Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement Director Mike Lambert, and retired San Francisco Police Department Assistant Chief David Lazar will compete to lead HPD.

Lambert and Ebner were among the finalists in 2022, when Arthur “Joe” Logan was unanimously selected to be chief on May 23, 2022. Logan retired under pressure from Mayor Rick Blangiardi who would like to assign the power to hire and fire the police chief to the mayor’s office through a charter amendment.

The three finalists were picked from six semi-finalists, commission chair Laurie Foster said after commissioners emerged from executive session today.

“These three finalists represent the strongest alignment with the needs of our community and the qualities we believe are essential for leading the Honolulu Police Department,” Foster said.

Interim Chief Rade K. Vanic, who was among the 41 people who applied for the permanent job, also served as interim chief after Susan Ballard retired. Vanic has led HPD since June 18.

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The three finalists will appear in a 90-minute public forum on PBS Hawaii May 14 before being interviewed by commissioners May 19. Commissioners will pick the next chief during their regularly scheduled meeting May 20.

On Tuesday, 36 community stakeholders selected by the police commission formed four panels and interviewed the applicants The panelists spent the day interviewing the six semi-finalists in a non-public setting.

“It was eight hours of intensive discussions. These panelists did not only the full day but they prepared, and these are our community leaders,” Foster said. “They didn’t make the decision,we made the decision but their input was very important to us.”

Foster said all six of the semi-finalists were “excellent policing leaders” and the commission is grateful for their participation and commitment.

State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers President Don Faumuina told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement that with over “460 vacancies and over 260 additional officers eligible to retire today, the stakes of the Police Commission’s decision could not be higher.”

“SHOPO is thoroughly scrutinizing the finalists to assess which candidate has the skills to immediately address our officer retention crisis, a proven history as an advocate for the department and the officers they lead, a proven ability to create an environment of trust and fairness, and a history of leading by example,” he said. “These have been the priorities of SHOPO members, expressed in our member survey and in the Commission’s survey of HPD personnel.”

Faumuina thanked commissioners for engaging the union throughout the process.

“We remain hopeful that their ultimate decision is a chief who has the experience and proven track record that meets the attributes expressed as a priority by those who will be working closest with the next chief of police,” he said.

After the commission announced the three finalists, Blangiardi said in a statement that the job is “one of the most important leadership positions in our city.”

“The men and women of the Honolulu Police Department, and the people of Oahu, deserve a chief with integrity, strong leadership, sound judgment, and a deep commitment to public safety and community trust,” said Blangiardi. “I look forward to meeting with each of the finalists in the coming days and learning more about their vision for the department and for the future of policing in Honolulu.”

Blangiardi also thanked all of the candidates who participated and expressed a willingness to “serve our community in this critical role.”

Blangiardi has said the mayor, not the commission, should control hiring and firing the chief and that the county’s top executive can’t be responsible for public safety without the authority to manage HPD’s leadership.

A report from a permitted interaction group (PIG) of six of the Honolulu Charter Commission’s 13 members made that recommendation in its April report.