HONOLULU — The former head of the Hawaii National Guard was chosen Monday to be the 12th Chief of Police for the Honolulu Police Department.
The Honolulu Police Commission chose retired Army Maj. Gen. Arthur "Joe" Logan in a unanimous vote.
Logan was selected from a pool of four finalists, including two internal and one off-island candidate. After the four candidates appeared before the commission, commissioners narrowed the field to just Logan and Scott Ebner, a retired New Jersey State Police officer.
Logan will take over from Interim Chief Rade Vanic.
Logan retired from the military in December 2019. Earlier in his career, he worked as a Honolulu police officer for 20 years.
He was most recently a criminal investigator with the state Attorney General's office. He has also been the head of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.
The department is still recovering from the 2019 conviction of former chief Louis Kealoha after he used his law enforcement power to frame his then-wife's uncle for stealing their mailbox. He's serving a seven-year federal prison sentence. Katherine Kealoha, a former city prosecutor, is serving 13 years.
Logan said he was "just as surprised as anyone" by the decision and his goal was to motivate, inspire and mentor people in the department.
"I have to make myself available to the public to get their insights and answer their questions and concerns and show that the department... is going to help them in what they would like in their community," he told reporters after his selection.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi congratulated Logan and said building back public trust and restoring morale within the department need to be top priorities.
"It is imperative that the new chief and my administration establish a strong working relationship, and I will do everything in my power to ensure Chief Logan has the resources he needs to improve public safety on Oʻahu and lead the Honolulu Police Department into the future," the mayor said in a statement.
Robert Cavaco, the president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said he is hopeful the new chief will work closely with the police union.
“We welcome back and congratulate Retired General Logan on his selection as Honolulu’s next Chief of Police," Cavaco said, in a statement. "With violent crime continuing to rise, coupled with our severe staffing shortage, we are hopeful that Chief Logan will work collaboratively with SHOPO and the rank-and-file officers we represent to immediately address these challenges."
