Interim Police Chief addresses arrests of two Hawaiʻi Island officers

Two Hawai‘i Island police officers appeared Wednesday afternoon in Hilo Circuit Court, where they pleaded not guilty to charges levied against them by the State of Hawai‘i Attorney General involving alleged unconstitutional searches of an arrestee’s belongings in May 2023.

Judge Henry Nakamoto set a jury trial for June 8 for officers Blane Kenolio and Noah Serrao.

“These are very difficult things to have to deal with, but we will,” Interim Police Chief Reed Mahuna told Big Island Now during an interview on Wednesday. “We will deal with them as a police department, and we’ll make sure that we don’t ever put the public trust in jeopardy.”

Charges against the two officers were filed Tuesday in 3rd Circuit Court, where they were arrested and granted supervised release.

Serrao is charged with perjury, a class C felony, and false swearing in official matters and tampering with a government record, both misdemeanors. Kenolio is charged with tampering with physical evidence, a misdemeanor.

Serrao and Kenolio remain working at the police department, but they are not allowed to perform patrol duties, be on the road or investigate criminal cases, Mahuna said.

The officers, who were working patrol, will be allowed to help in the cell block or with administrative work.

Mahuna said they are still part of the force because “the criminal charges are allegations and we intend to respect the criminal justice process as it moves forward. Should these officers be convicted of a crime, that may trigger additional action by the department.”

Mahuna added that the department already has internally disciplined the officers “pursuant to the results of an administrative investigation in 2024.”

Serrao was suspended for 50 days, and Kenolio was suspended for 24 days, which appeared on the Hawai‘i County Police Department’s 2024 Legislature Disciplinary Report.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Serrao was ordered to turn in his firearms as the Hawai‘i State Statutes stipulates any defendant charged with a felony cannot possess them. Kenolio was not subject to the statute due to his misdemanor charges.

Mahuna said integrity and professionalism are the cornerstones of the Hawai‘i Police Department. “In this police department, we don’t cover things up. We address them because, without the public trust, we really don’t have anything. And as a police department, without the public trust, you really don’t have a police department.”

Serrao and Kenolio have been on the force for about six years and were both graduates from the Hawaiʻi Police Department’s 91st Recruit Class in 2020.

Mahuna said he doesn’t have the details about the case in 2023 that precipitated the charges.

“What I do know is that a person (believed to be a woman) was placed under arrest, and it’s alleged that their belongings were searched without a warrant and in violation of their constitutional rights,” Mahuna said.

The chief didn’t know the status of the arrest.

“I would imagine that the case is not good at this point,” Mahuna said. “If there is any breach of someone’s constitutional rights, anything that occurs is poisoned from that action. So I would imagine that the case is not good at this point.”

When asked why the officers weren’t let go from the department back in 2023, Mahuna said every chief has discretion when it comes to discipline. The chief at the time of this incident was Ben Moszkowicz, who resigned from the department last year.

“Some chiefs in a case like this would choose termination. Others would choose a lengthy suspension, which is what occurred here,” said Mahuna, who is among the 11 finalists for the chief position.

According to court documents, Serrao made false statements about an arrest involving a zippered bag, which he said contained methamphetamine and a glass pipe, that was brought into the Hilo cellblock. There was not a warrant for the person arrested.

Serrao’s made those false statements to ranking officers, and later to Judge Darien W.L. Ching Nagata, who accepting the statements as true, and determined there was probable cause for the arrest and extended restraint of the arrestee.

The felony charging document also indicates Kenolio did “intentionally or knowingly destroy, mutilate, conceal, remove, or alter physical evidence, to wit, the contents of a Louis Vuitton bag, with the intent to impair the contents’ verity in the pending or prospective official proceeding.”

The difficulty in this particular case, Mahuna said, was that the administrative investigation was complete, while the criminal investigation — which usually takes much longer — was not done.

“At a certain point, we have to move forward with our administrative determination,” Mahuna said.

Mahuna described Serrao and Kenolio as good people and have been recognized for their good police work in the past.

In October, Kenolio was recognized by the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai‘i for “his outstanding investigative work and keen observational skills that led to the arrest of a repeat offender and recovery of stolen property.”

In 2021, Serrao was recognized by the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawai‘i as Officer of the Month for his efforts in helping to track two escapees from the Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center.

“Sometimes you can make a mistake, and then you try to remedy that mistake, and you make it worse, and you get caught in a situation where you started off doing something wrong, but it continued,” Mahuna said. “That’s how a lot of good officers and good people can get in trouble.”

Serrao is facing the class C felony offense of perjury, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. False swearing in official matters, tampering with a government record and tampering with physical evidence are misdemeanor offenses punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Mahuna said the department does have good policies and procedures in place that work well to protect its officers as well as individuals who are arrested. The overwhelming majority of officers, the chief added, abide by those procedures day in and day out.

“These are people that I care about. I care about all my employees,” Mahuna said.

But the interim chief said he also cares about the people of Hawai‘i County, and public trust is more important to him.

“It’s more important than any individual in this department,” Mahuna said. “The public trust has to be protected at all costs.”

The 2023 incident, the chief added, is an example where the administration was made aware of the possible misconduct and leaders took action to investigate administratively and criminally.