Police Chief Harry Kubojiri on Friday took issue with reports relayed by two South Kona Neighborhood Watch coordinators that police dispatchers’ actions resulted in a wanted woman, whom the public was asked to help locate, not being immediately apprehended.
Police Chief Harry Kubojiri on Friday took issue with reports relayed by two South Kona Neighborhood Watch coordinators that police dispatchers’ actions resulted in a wanted woman, whom the public was asked to help locate, not being immediately apprehended.
Following a review of dispatch and nonemergency line calls and communications, Kubojiri said officers located just one call made to the department’s nonemergency line at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday from a person at the Kealakekua Ranch Center reporting seeing Nicole Adams, who police have a warrant of arrest out for and is considered a person of interest in a rash of South Kona crimes police attribute to an organized group. The call-taker received information on the location of Adams and what she was wearing.
At 5:20 p.m., dispatch assigned an officer to respond to the center, Kubojiri said. The officer arrived seven minutes later and arrested Adams at the scene after being contacted by the department’s task force designated to quash the apparent rash of crimes.
Kubojiri also said the department followed up with the reporting party, whose identity he asked be kept anonymous for fear of reprisal. The caller reported to officers calling just once to the nonemergency line after recognizing Adams. The person reported officers arrived quickly and found Adams. The caller also confirmed not being aware of any other calls placed in regard to Adams.
He said no other calls to 9-1-1 or the nonemergency line were located in regard to the Adams incident. Statements that the reporting party called 9-1-1 but was directed to the department’s nonemergency line where she was put on hold twice were inaccurate.
West Hawaii Today was contacted by Neighborhood Watch coordinators Brenda Ford and Miles Mulcahy regarding the incident. The two reported information about an apparent snafu in which a woman tried calling 9-1-1 and the nonemergency line to be put on hold.
Mulcahy, reached late Friday while shopping, declined comment. Ford, who said she was not at the scene and received the information from the community and was therefore unable to confirm or deny the chief’s finding, also declined comment.
Kubojiri said the department also looked into a second incident involving dispatch that the coordinators reported occurred Wednesday evening when Neighborhood Watch persons observed a suspicious vehicle on Hokukano Road and followed it south toward Kona Coffee Villas.
The coordinators relayed that when the callers tried to report their concerns to police, they were transferred to the nonemergency line. A dispatcher reportedly told the callers she was from Hilo and did not know South Kona landmarks.
Kubojiri said the department’s review found multiple calls made to both 9-1-1 and the department’s nonemergency line from at least three different callers about the suspicious vehicle on Hokukano Road. He said there appeared to be a connection issue during one of the calls, but that the reporting party called back.
He said one of the people again called 9-1-1 after the initial report seeking follow-up information and was put on hold when another 9-1-1 call came in. The caller apparently hung up and called the nonemergency line before dispatch resumed the call less than a minute later.
Shortly thereafter, there was a call to the nonemergency line seeking information on the incident. Kubojiri said a dispatcher apologized and obtained the caller’s information to have an officer contact them.
Information that a female dispatcher didn’t know South Kona landmarks could not be found. Dispatchers, he said, often ask reporting parties to repeat their location to ensure officers are directed correctly. The review also found no evidence to support the claim that the dispatcher reported no knowledge of the area because she was from Hilo.