Retired Brig. Gen. Arthur “Joe” Logan, a former adjutant general of the Hawaii National Guard, has been selected as the next chief of the Honolulu Police Department.
After a nearly year-long search and an hours-long meeting today, the Honolulu Police Commission chose Logan in a unanimous vote this afternoon.
Logan will become Honolulu’s 12th police chief, replacing Interim Chief Rade Vanic, who took over leadership of the department after then-Chief Susan Ballard abruptly retired in June following a critical performance appraisal from the commission. Vanic took himself out of the running for the permanent position in March.
Logan beat out three other finalists for the top HPD post: HPD Maj. Mike Lambert, head of the department’s Ke Kula Makai Training Division; HPD Maj. Ben Moszkowicz, who runs the department’s Traffic Division; and retired New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. Scott Ebner.
Shortly after the announcement, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi issued an emailed statement regarding Logan’s selection.
“Chief Logan steps into this important role at a critical time, and I offer my warm congratulations to both he and his family on being named the next leader of the Honolulu Police Department,” Blangiardi said in an email. “Building back public trust and restoring morale within HPD need to be top priorities, and I look forward to sitting down with Chief Logan as soon as possible to discuss his vision for this crucial task.”
During a Zoom press conference with reporters this afternoon, Blangiardi said that it is his top priority to meet with Logan as soon as possible. On Blangiardi’s agenda to discuss with Logan: HPD morale, management and leadership philosophy, media relations, overall belief systems and goals.
“I’m very excited to meet Joe, and I’m very excited about what all he is going to bring to the department and his leadership,” he said.
Newly appointed @honolulupolice Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan meets the press after being selected by the Honolulu Police Commission. pic.twitter.com/zBcjjj9fVI
— Peter Boylan (@PeterBBoylan) May 24, 2022
After taking a straw poll, the commission narrowed the field to Logan and Ebner, choosing to go outside the embattled department for its next leader.
At a televised candidates’ forum on PBS Hawaii Thursday, all four candidates spoke of the importance of restoring public trust and the reputation of HPD in the aftermath of the scandal that sent Ballard’s predecessor, Chief Louis Kealoha, and his then-deputy prosecutor wife Katherine Kealoha, to federal prison in a fraud and conspiracy case.
Logan, a 20-year HPD veteran before joining the military, is the grandson of a New York City police officer and two of his brothers served in the department. He joined HPD in 1982 and worked as a patrol officer, narcotics/vice officer and solo bike officer before being promoted to sergeant and was assigned as a detective in the robbery detail. He later lead the 2,000-member Hawaii National Guard with an annual budget of $200 million. He currently works as a criminal investigator with the state Attorney General’s Office.
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