The Hawaii County Police Commission today named four finalists to succeed Paul Ferreira, who retired Aug. 31 as the county’s top cop.
It had been previously announced there were five finalists, but one application has been withdrawn by the applicant, according to the commission.
The finalists are:
• Sherry Bird: Currently the major commanding the Area II Operations Bureau in Kona, Bird has been a member of the Hawaii Police Department since February 1998.
• Paul Applegate: Since June 2019, Applegate has been a captain in the Kauai Police Department’s Investigative Services Bureau. He also was a member of the Hawaii Police Department from June 1999 to October 2000 before moving to the Garden Island and joining its police department.
• Edward Ignacio: Ignacio retired from the FBI in December 2021 as a senior resident agent. He was an officer with the Hawaii Police Department from October 1996 to January 2000. He also was an officer in the Honolulu Police Department from October 1993 to October 1996.
• Benjamin Moszkowicz: A major in the Honolulu Police Department, Moszkowicz, who has 22 years of service to the department, is in charge of the Oahu police department’s traffic division.
The commission has scheduled special meetings on both sides of the island to introduce the finalists to the public, interview them, and to take public testimony.
The Hilo meeting is at 9 a.m. Monday at the County Council Chambers in Hilo, while the West Hawaii meeting is at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the County Council Chambers in the West Hawaii Civic Center in Kailua-Kona. Both meetings will be available to the public via Zoom.
Anyone wishing to submit testimony online via Zoom must sign up by 9 a.m. Friday by contacting Charisse Correa, the commission’s secretary, at (808) 932-2950 or Charisse.Correa@hawaiicounty.gov.
See Wednesday’s Tribune-Herald for more.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.