INDEX - JUSTICE
www.islandbreath.org ID#0815-14

SUBJECT: POLICE RE-VISION

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com

POSTED: 28 MAY 2008 - 7:30am HST

Aloha Tom & Darryl: Thanks for the dialog

image above: Juan Wilson, hanging out at a westside beach. Hey today is my birthday. I'm 63.

[Editor's Note: Followup published today in the TGI News to Chief Perry and Commissioner Innucci recent editorials.]

The Future We Want
by Juan Wilson on 27 May 2008 in The Garden Island News

In the last two days I was surprised by the tone of critiques, of my article concerning the mission of the KPD, that were written by Darryl Perry, Police Chief, and then Thomas Iannucci, Chairman of the Police Commission.

They seem to see frank questions concerning the operation of the KPD as equivalent to personal attacks on police officers.

I see it as public participation in community.

Is this the way we engage in an examination and restructuring of the department? By hyperbolic rhetoric and putdown of the public if they question the status quo?
Both Tom and Darryl hint that fear should guide us. My sense is that it is the administrators of the KPD are fearful... of change... of the future. That should be mitigated.

Vast change appears to be coming, but high speed police cruisers, tasers and riot shields will not be the tools needed to handle it. Let's cool off and try for a real dialog between the people of Kauai and those who serve to protect them.
We have limited resources and need to plan for the future carefully, so that it turns out to be the future we want.



image above: Pastor Tom Iannucci, Chairman of the Kauai Police Commission and martial arts instructor

[Editor's Note: The following is the editorial response to The Island Breath column published Saturday 5/24/08 in TGI news]

Police Department operates in the real world
by Tom Iannuccii on 27 May 2008 in The Garden Island News


In response to Juan Wilson’s Island Breath column, “Toward a Kauai police mission statement,” that ran on the Forum page May 24 in The Garden Island:
The first thing I had to do after reading Wilson’s column was look at the byline and see what planet Wilson was writing from. I was shocked to see Hanapepe listed.

Wilson’s commentary was verbal buffoonery at its finest and I’m shocked that The Garden Island allows him to even have a column. But “freedom of speech” is a right we have, don’t we? I don’t have to like what you say do I? And yes Wilson, you have the right to bash our department, or trash talk it or say what you like about all the good employees, officers and the families they represent islandwide, and be protected by the Kauai Police Department to do so.
The KPD doesn’t get the luxury of picking and choosing who they protect and defend, because whether you like a person’s views or not, they have their rights and our department enforces those rights. It’s called the law.

Chief Darryl Perry is an outstanding example of fairness and openness and has a myriad of complex issues pertaining to our department that he is tackling in a systematic manner. The mission statement is just one of many works in progress. Before your attack on our department and its mission statement, the updated statement was being handed out. Myself, as a police commissioner, along with all the other commissioners present and the leaders of the department were handed the updated mission statement that has been worked on for months with the input from various members of KPD. Among other things, the revised mission statement included a section on the “aloha spirit” and its inclusion in Hawai‘i state law.

He even listed the statute (HRS 5-7.5) that mandates it and included “pono” as something needed to be emulated as well. Maybe you want to look that one up?

By the way, all police department mission statements on all islands were reviewed when they put our statement together. But thanks for your late input, or criticism.

Our police have a fine mission statement and tough job to do. Unlike your conspiracy theory, our police officers have to go out and provide protection for both the Superferry and those who protest against it. They don’t arrest protesters, but those who violate those laws that allow us all free speech. Whether it’s someone from the Superferry or someone protesting, KPD is always in the middle. It doesn’t matter what they think or feel, they just have to do their job, and it’s one hell of a tough job. But, maybe your right Wilson, maybe it would be better if the police didn’t carry guns or drive gas-guzzling vehicles that are capable of high speeds, or have “cool equipment” like you said. Maybe we do need electric cars or better yet, like you said, bikes or horses.

Maybe nothing bad will ever happen on Kaua‘i either? Maybe no bad people will ever come here, or sell drugs, or beat or abuse people, or rob banks, or have any weapons and our police can ride on skateboards and carry water pistols, or maybe rubber bands and paper clips for tougher problems? Maybe Kaua‘i will only have model law-abiding citizens, transplants and visitors? Maybe no bad people will move here or set up gambling houses, drug rings or organized crime families.

Maybe the next time someone’s pinned in their car after an accident the gas-guzzling fire trucks will have been removed and Kauai Fire Department will get there in an hour or two on skateboards or electric scooters? Maybe the police will respond in the same way if there is shooting in your neighborhood? Maybe if a drug ring pops up in your community or next door to you we can have a “consensus building” team meeting with them and express our dismay? Maybe they will disassemble and go away? Maybe the police should all just learn “tongue fu” and talk that guy high on “ice” out of his rampage? Maybe we can all just get along and live in peace and harmony?
That’s what we all want, but that is just not reality. Is it Wilson?

Maybe nothing bad will ever happen here? Maybe we’ll never have something like the Oklahoma City bombing or the destruction of the World Trade Center towers, or something of that magnitude, or something like a Columbine incident? Maybe we’ll never have a hurricane or a tsunami either, but I’m sure glad Civil Defense is here and they have the equipment and training they need in case we do.

We may never have any incident here Wilson, but be sure if we do, our department is doing its best to be prepared and do the job the people of Kaua‘i would expect, because if we didn’t, guys like yourself would be crying about why the Police Department wasn’t prepared and didn’t respond to your need in a timely manner. That’s a guarantee.

I don’t know where you are from Wilson, but it seems like you and “rap cancer” guy up on the North Shore should get together and give us tips on how to run the island. Because you guys simply know better.

By the way, to even insinuate that the chief and our officers are in some way “suppressing” Hawaiian Sovereignty groups or “protecting” the pesticide spraying by our children in schools is just shameful. And all you do by making those comments is stir the pot and create more trouble in a place you yourself want to be peaceful. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First, the chief and many of our officers are of Hawaiian descent. The chief’s own sister diligently works as a leader in the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., a group that assists the Hawaiian people and the sovereignty groups in assessing whether Hawaiian lands were taken illegally or not, and working with them in trying to gain them back. Second, as far as protecting GMO corporations who spray pesticides by our schools, myself and more than a few officers have, and have had, children at those schools during the times in question. Again to insinuate that we as parents disregard the health and well-being of our children to protect a “police agenda” is ludicrous and completely off-base. As are many other things you stated.

But you will sleep well at night Wilson, on Kaua‘i, because many families on this island have members who serve in our military and would be willing to lay down their lives to keep us free and you have KPD rolling around ensuring you have the right to protest, picket or write lopsided commentaries that don’t represent the vast majority of our island and especially the Westside.
But we’ve heard it all before and there is nothing new under the sun.
Because if you’ve heard “Juan,” you’ve heard them all.

You owe our chief, our KPD officers, their families and your boss an apology for taking shots at our department you obviously know little about or care to learn about.

• Tom Iannucci is the chairman of the Kauai Police Commission and a resident of Hanapepe.



[Editor's Note: The following is testimony from pastor Tom that describes his spiritual journey.]

In his own words...
Fighting God's Battles through the Lord Jesus Christ
by Tom Iannuccii on The Christian Martial Arts Network

|
Aloha from Kauai, My name is Pastor Tom Iannucci and I am the Senior Pastor of Breath of Life Christian Ministries on the island of Kauai. I am a certified black belt instructor with the Matsubayashi style of Shorin-Ryu and a practitioner of other styles. I am also the co-founder of the Christian Martial Arts Academy on Kauai, a free non-profit martial arts program that teaches Kajukenbo, which derived out of Honolulu in the early 50's.

I began my training in 1975 and studied in New York and Tokyo. When I got saved in 87 that Lord asked me to put down my training for a while, which I did. Basically he told me to be a "black belt" in Christianity and if I put as much heart and effort into Him, as I did into my martial arts, He would bless me, which He has. I did that until about 2004 when we started the Christian Self Defense Academy and I started again. Although not as loose and limber as I once was, my primary focus in on Jesus and the saving of souls.

To that end I am always looking for ways to reach the lost and of course in our field, because the Martial Arts can be a dark place filled with eastern mysticism, pride and arrogance, moreso my heart desires to reach out. I am a published author and wrote a book back in 2002 (Beirut: God's Boot Camp) and numerous magazine articles as well. I hope to do a book on the martial arts soon, but why I am contacting you is that I am working with someone at the International Bible Society in developing a "Martial Arts" New Testament.

This would be a witnessing tool, much like the Cowboy bible, or Fireman/Police/Military/Biker New testaments they offer. It would be an opportunity to get the bible in the hands of those who might not necessarily pick one up and read it. So, what I'm trying to get some input from different Christian Martial Arts groups, like yourself, to see if you would be interested in something like this, as a witnessing tool, to give out at events, or at your schools and affiliate schools. It would have a cool cover that would reflect the martial arts, have testimony from various Christian Martial artists, known, unknown, men, women, kids etc...A New Testament that would help those who don't know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, come to know Him via testimonies of others who study and train as hard as they do, possible some small teachings and of course the best tool, via God's inspired Word.

This is just the beginning/discovery stage and we are still formulating it, but I am checking to see if you would be interested in something like this for your school or organization. If it would be something that you think is a good idea or a helpful tool in reaching out to the lost. If you could please drop me a note back with your thoughts, or insights, I would appreciate it. Thanks for you time. Aloha & God Bless, Pastor Tom Iannucci Breath of Life Christian Ministries - Kauai


SUBJECT: POLICE RE-VISION

SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com

POSTED: 26 MAY 2008 - 10:00pm HST

Understand What Police Officers Do

image above: KPD Chief Darryl Perry portrait from Kauai Police Website

[Editor's Note: The following is a report on the responses to the Saturday Island Breath column about the mission of the Kauai Police Department. Juan Wilson and Darryl Perry have been invited as guests on "Out of the Box" on KKCR this Thursday from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.]

by KPD Chief Darryl Perry on 26 May 2008 in The Garden Island News

While I did not read Juan Wilson’s entire commentary about the Kauai Police Department, the part about our mission statement did catch my eye (“Toward a Kaua‘i police mission statement,” Island Breath, May 24).

Perhaps this is as good a time as any to mention that we have revised our mission statement for the exact reasons that Wilson mentioned.

We included the aloha spirit and pono as our guiding principles. It was months in the making and was unveiled to our employees only this past Wednesday.
Input was gathered from all levels of the department, both sworn and civilian. We will be making a public announcement shortly.

The reason I’m responding to Wilson’s commentary is I want the public to know that the credit for our new mission statement goes to each and every employee at KPD because they saw the need months ago to be more in alignment with our community values. We believe in respect, integrity and professionalism.

But unfortunately, it makes some individuals uneasy, because they just cannot bring themselves to believe that we truly care for our community and that we need a variety of verbal tools and intermediate weapons to do our job.

Some people have suggested we do away with all of our weapons. Let’s see what would happen if we left our weapons in the station house.

If a victim — perhaps your wife, sister, mother, son or daughter — were getting the snot kicked out of them by someone drunk or under the influence of drugs, we could try to talk them down.

If that fails, then perhaps I could have my officers hold hands and sing a hymn. Maybe that would calm him down, then we could politely ask him to comply by placing his hands behind his back as we place him under arrest. If that fails, then we’ll just wait till he gets tired. Or better yet, I could contact one of our community experts who deplore the use of any type of weapon and ask him to resolve the situation.

I’m really not trying to be funny.

The point of the matter is that many of our critics have never had to deal with the variety of issues that we have to deal with on a daily basis.

They have never had to wrestle or fight for their lives because someone had so much pent up rage that they wanted to kill someone, anyone. My officers are not paid to get hurt. My officers are paid to preserve the peace.

I just wish some of our naysayers could understand what our job entails and not let their biases get in the way of knowing the truth.



Below is the official Mission Statement for the Kauai Police as I, Juan Wilson, read it before writing my column.

 

KPD Mission Statement

The men and women of the Kauai Police Department, civilian and sworn, working in harmony, are guided by the following principles:

Service: We provide the highest level of quality service to the community. We protect the rights and liberties of all as granted by the Constitutions, Laws and Ordinances of the United States, State of Hawaii and County of Kauai. We promote partnerships that build trust, reduce crimes, and create a safe environment which enhances the quality of life.

Respect: We treat citizens and each other with unconditional respect, exercising tolerance and compassion. We are honest, truthful and sincere in our interactions. We acknowledge and accept our individual differences and unique cultural diversity.

Fairness:
We strive for fairness and consistency in our decisions and judgments. We accept responsibility for our actions.

We are proud to be members of the Kauai Police Department and this community. We support and empower our fellow workers. We have the courage to uphold these principles and are proud that they guide us in all we do.

 

Since then, the KPD "Chief's Message" has been modified. It now includes the inclusion of the words "Integrity" and "Aloha Spirit".


KPD Chief's Message


Our promise to you:

...We promise to provide the highest level of law enforcement Service. We promise to treat each other with Respect and dignity. We promise to incorporate Fairness in all of our actions. And we promise to maintain uncompromising Integrity in our interactions with our community and personal lives...

...Please take your time to explore the information provided for you on our website. If you are a visitor to our island-home, visit our county website at www.kauai.gov and learn more about our rich history and diverse cultures. We are a unique community in that our early roots were derived from our plantation heritage; knitting many ethnicities and cultures together, forming who we are today.

The Aloha Spirit lives and is perpetuated throughout our community...



see also:
Island Breath: TGI #30: The Kauai Police Mission 5/24/08
Island Breath: Security overreaction now the norm 5/14/08
Island Breath: Dangers of Tasers 5/10/08
Island Breath: KPD Overreact in Hanapepe 5/6/08
Island Breath: Protect and Serve - Not terrify! 4/5/08
Island Breath: Lingle Plan for Police State
9/22/07


Pau
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