Kohala Officer of the Quarter named

NORTH HAWAII — The Hawaii Island Safety and Security Professionals Association has recognized Officer Tyler Prokopec as the “Kohala Officer of the Quarter” for the first quarter of 2017.

A ceremony was held April 21 at the Civil Defense headquarters in Hilo.

Officer Prokopec was honored for his actions while off-duty which resulted in the arrest of a disorderly male at the Waikoloa Queens’ MarketPlace in February.

On Feb. 15 at 9:30 p.m., Officer Prokopec was driving along Waikoloa Beach Drive when he observed a security guard and a civilian struggling to detain a disorderly male near the shopping center. The disorderly male, upon being alerted that Prokopec was a police officer, immediately jumped up and ran to the roadway in an attempt to flee. The male then attempted stopping a moving vehicle before jumping onto the hood of a pickup truck and shattering it’s windshield by kicking it. Officer Prokopec was then able to remove the suspect from the truck and safely place him under arrest.

It was later learned that the suspect had caused damages to two other vehicles in the area.

Sergeant Erich Jackson commented in his nomination papers that “without Officer Prokopec’s immediate and decisive intervention, the suspect may have harmed himself further or committed more crimes. Officer Prokopec exemplified the Hawaii Police Department’s core values of professionalism, integrity and community satisfaction, and is deserving of this award.”

The Hawaii Island Safety and Security Professionals Association is an organization of hotel and airport security managers and visitor industry professionals. The “Kohala Officer of the Quarter” program is an opportunity to recognize outstanding officers from the North Kohala and South Kohala Districts.