The Honolulu Police Commission has picked Deputy Chief Rade K. Vanic to serve as interim chief, replacing outgoing Chief Joe Logan until a permanent chief is named.
Vanic was unanimously selected by the seven-member commission during a lengthy meeting on June 18, when they decided to follow the city charter and appoint the next highest ranking Honolulu Police Department (HPD) officer to serve as interim chief.
Previously, Vanic has served as interim chief when Susan Ballard retired in June 2021.
During the meeting, commission members heard five-minute pitches from eight candidates vying for the interim position — five were internal candidates from HPD, and three were external. Nearly all of the candidates, including current Hawaiʻi County Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz, expressed interest in applying for the permanent role.
Some commissioners expressed concern that selecting someone for the interim role might create an unfair advantage when it comes to finding a permanent replacement for Logan and questioned the wisdom of putting the department through two leadership transitions.
They also stressed that they wanted to use their efforts to pick the next police chief as soon as possible.
The pool of candidates for the interim role will be used to select a new police chief, according to commissioners.
Meanwhile, Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan’s retirement date has been pushed back to Aug. 1. Due to accrued time off, his last day in office will be July 15.
Vanic starts as interim chief July 16.
