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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Retired San Francisco Police Department Assistant Chief David Lazar was selected as the 13th chief of Honolulu Police Department at the Honolulu Police Commission meeting this afternoon. Seated behind him are the two other finalists, Mike Lambert (left) and Scott Ebner.
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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Newly appointed HPD chief David Lazar greets his wife, Julie, after being announced today as the next chief at the Honolulu Police Commission meeting at HPD headquarters.
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COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE COMMISSION
David S. Lazar
The Honolulu Police Commission today selected retired San Francisco Police Department Assistant Chief David Lazar as the 13th chief of the Honolulu Police Department.
Lazar will now be subject to a background check conducted by the FBI and will enter into contract negotiations with the city.
Police commissioners spent 90 minutes interviewing each candidate Tuesday at the end of a months-long process, which included interviews by panels of community members, including business leaders, federal and state law enforcement officials and county first responder agencies.
In total, 36 community stakeholders selected by the police commission formed four panels and interviewed the applicants.
The other two finalists were Mike Lambert, the director of the Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement, and retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. Scott Ebner, who works as public safety director and chief of police in Glynn County, Ga.
Lambert, 46, the son of a retired HPD lieutenant and a former HPD major who started out as a patrol officer, was the overwhelming favorite of SHOPO, the police officer’s union. He was also endorsed by Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Gov. Josh Green.
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Last month, Lambert announced that he was stepping down from DLE to return to HPD to protect a pension he earned through 23 years of service to the city.
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 June 18 under pressure from Blangiardi. Interim Chief Rade Vanic has led the department since.
Vanic, who was among the 41 people who applied for the permanent job, also served as interim chief after Susan Ballard retired.
Blangiardi has said he believes the mayor’s office, not the commission, should control hiring and firing the chief. He has said that the county’s chief executive can’t be responsible for public safety without the authority to manage HPD’s leadership.
A report from a permitted interaction group of six of the Honolulu Charter Commission’s 13 members made that recommendation in its April report.