For his efforts to solve a burglary in Pahoa, Officer Taylor Cruz was honored as Officer of the Month for October 2022 by the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii during a ceremony last month in Hilo.
A patrol officer with just over two years of experience, Puna Patrol Officer Cruz responded to an active burglary in the Nanawale subdivision on Oct. 8, 2022. The victim reported that an unknown masked male and female forcibly entered his residence and removed his surveillance camera. The pair then took the keys to his vehicle and fled the area after the victim gave chase. Reviewing the surveillance footage, Cruz determined that the female suspect was known to him and, that based on his past contacts with her, he also suspected he knew the identity of the masked man.
Upon contacting the female suspect and advising her of her rights, Cruz quickly established a rapport with her and was able to get the female suspect to identify the male suspect. He learned that the male suspect was in fact the same man that Cruz initially suspected.
He was able to obtain a full confession from the female, including her involvement in the crime. She also revealed other crimes committed by her accomplice, including another burglary that included the theft of a firearm.
With this new information, police were able to quickly take the male suspect into custody.
The female suspect was charged with burglary and one count of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. The male suspect was charged with burglary, two counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, and ownership/possession of prohibited of ammunition.
Every month the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaii honors a police officer in East Hawaii as their officer of the month.
Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the police districts in East Hawaii, and a winner is selected.