The Kona Crime Prevention Committee saluted Kona Patrol Officer Kaea Sugata as Officer of the Month for October during a luncheon ceremony Tuesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee saluted Kona Patrol Officer Kaea Sugata as Officer of the Month for October during a luncheon ceremony Tuesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
Sugata was honored for what his supervisor described as “outstanding performance” during a traffic accident investigation.
Sugata was the first officer on the scene of a traffic accident involving a motorcycle and a motor vehicle. The motorcycle driver suffered severe injuries and was losing a significant amount of blood. Sugata immediately applied a tourniquet to the victim’s arm to stop the bleeding. A second officer arrived on the scene and used a belt to apply a tourniquet to the victim’s leg.
The victim was treated later for his injuries at The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu.
Sgt. Akira Edmoundson, who nominated Sugata for the award, noted Sugata was a new officer and had proven to be an asset to the Police Department.
“Officer Sugata demonstrated a high level of competence and initiative, and his quick and immediate actions resulted in the life of a member or our community being saved,” Edmoundson wrote in nomination papers.
As Officer of the Month, Sugata is eligible to become the Kona committee’s Officer of the Year.