Jeremy Kubojiri Honored as Officer of the Month

Officer Jeremy Kubojiri

The Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaiʻi recognized Officer Jeremy Kubojiri on Thursday, Sept. 22, as the East Hawaiʻi “Officer of the Month” for September.

Kubojiri was honored for saving the life of a 71-year-old man who had fallen off a balcony several days earlier.

On Aug. 23, Officer Jeremy Kubojiri and another community policing officer were conducting presence patrols in the Fern Acres subdivision when, around noon, dispatch assigned patrol officers to check on the welfare of a 71-year-old man.

A friend from Oregon had not heard from him in several days and was concerned about his welfare.

The two officers were in the general vicinity and volunteered to take the call. At the man’s house, they announced their presence outside a locked gate and after receiving no response, maneuvered through thick foliage and trees and made their way to the house. When the officers received no response from anyone inside, they entered the house through an open door and continued to call out while they checked the interior.

Officer Kubojiri noticed a paint can on a second-floor balcony that had no railing. He then looked over the balcony and spotted a man lying motionless on the ground.

Officer Kubojiri immediately made his way down to the man, who was conscious but unable to move and barely able to speak. The man had been painting his house three to five days earlier, when he fell from off the balcony and landed on the rocks below, suffering serious injuries. He was flown to Queens Medical Center on O‘ahu for treatment.

“Officer Kubojiri’s willingness to volunteer to handle a call he was not assigned and then to make a diligent, thorough check of the victim’s property undoubtedly saved the life of the 71-year-old victim, who would have otherwise succumbed to his injuries and exposure to the elements,” said Capt. Samuel Jelsma, who added that Kubojiri provided the friend in Oregon with regular updates on the man’s condition.

As “Officer of the Month,” Kubojiri is eligible for “Officer of the Year.”

The East Hawaiʻi “Officer of the Month” award is a project of the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaiʻi.