Honoring the men and women in blue: Officer of the year recognized

A community policing officer with a burning desire to go above and beyond his required duties was awarded Officer of the Year by the Kona Crime Prevention Committee.

The officer was Officer Ellsworth Fontes, who continues to work for his community, his superiors said.

Fontes was selected as the April Officer of the Month by the KCPC for his work as a community police officer, along with his continuing caseload of arrests, citations, investigations and other duties of a patrol officer.

He was nominated by Pualani Estates, one of the communities he covers as a community police officer.

Fontes is committed to any project and will go above and beyond, said, Sgt. Floyd Richards of the community policing unit.

Fontes said the fact his award was recommended by the community was especially uplifiting.

With the amount of vocal distrust and dislike of law enforcement, it helps to know “your community is behind you,” he said.

Fontes is an excited officer and committing to helping the community, said Kona Patrol Capt. Randal Ishii.

That includes arrests and investigations beyond his duties as a community police officer.

He was the superior for every officer when they were nominated, and said any of the 11 deserved to be the officer of the year.

The real winners at the competition was the community, said Fontes. They are fortunate to have such qualified and professional officers, he said.

The other officers were:

Officer Dustin Chaves was recognized in January for working to end a seven-day crime spike that spanned July and August 2014. His investigation lead to the arrest of the suspect behind the crimes and recovery of a stolen car.

Officer Bradden Kimura was the February officer of the month. He was recognized for working to resuscitate a person who attempted suicide on July 2. He gave rescue breaths while another officer provided chest compressions for the five minutes it took for medics to arrive.

Officer Marlin Hopson was the March officer of the month. He responded to a 45-foot sailboat that ran aground, forcing the couple aboard to abandon ship and all their belongings. Hopson hosted the two at his home that night.

Officer Justin Gaspar was May’s officer of the month and “honored for his investigative skills,” including following a series of car break-ins, and an arrest for meth packaged for distribution.

Officer Chandler Nacino was recognized in June for tracking down gunshots near the Keauhou Shopping Center and Kona Country Club on Nov. 18. He investigated, then joined two other officers in locating the truck containing three men, a rifle, bullet casings and a bullet magazine. All the men were arrested.

Officer Wyattlane Nahale was the July 2014 officer of the month, for his efforts in organizing community policing programs, including the 2014 Dare Day event. About 1,000 students participated in the event.

August’s officer of the month was Joseph Picadura for “a lengthy investigation of a case involving fraudulent use of a credit card,” according to police. His investigations lead to 14 charges against the suspect, while still investigating other incidents, complaints and performing traffic stops.

Officer Coley Rowe was named officer of the month in October 2014 for his work investigating a robbery and assault. On May 27, 2014, a man robbed two people, injuring one of them badly enough to go to the hospital. Rowe’s investigation lead to the recovery of the vehicle and arrest of the suspect.

Officer Reuben Pukahi was the November 2014 officer of the month, for his role in rescuing a man who tried to commit suicide. His sergeant credited Pukahi with saving the man’s life.

Sgt. Carrie Akina was honored in December 2014 for locating two men wanted for a burglary at a resort on June 21, 2014. She located and arrested both men within 24 hours. At the time she was a patrol officer, but she was promoted on Aug. 1.