Hawaiʻi Police Department
Office of the Chief
Chief Harry S. Kubojiri
Phone: 961-2244
Officer of the Month: Chandler Nacino
Media Release
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee recognized Kona Patrol Officer Chandler Nacino as “Officer of the Month” for June in a luncheon ceremony Wednesday (June 3) at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
Nacino was honored for his investigation of gunshots being fired in Kailua-Kona last November.
On November 18, Officer Nacion was traveling north on Kuakini Highway near Akoni Drive when he heard three gunshots in the vicinity.
He then learned that Dispatch had received several reports of gunshots being fired in the area of Kamehameha Highway III, in the Keauhou Shopping Center and the Kona Country Club golf course. He began to investigate and discovered a bullet hole in a street sign. He and two other patrol officers checked a side street off Kaleiopapa Street, where they located a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. While approaching the truck, Nacino saw a rifle case in the truck’s bed. He had three men exit the truck and detected the odor of gunpowder. He observed a rifle, used bullet casings and a bullet magazine inside the truck.
The driver was arrested for drunk driving and a firearm offense and the investigation was routed to detectives. Detectives later found four additional bullet holes in the vicinity.
Sergeant David Araki, who nominated Nacino for the honor, called him very driven and determined.
“Due to the dedication that Officer Nacino demonstrated on the night of the shootings, I believe he prevented further destruction to property and possible loss of life,” Araki wrote in nomination papers. “We are fortunate that Officer Nacino patrols our streets and calls Kona his home.”
As “Officer of the Month,” Nacino is eligible to become “Officer of the Year.”
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee is an organization that encourages community involvement in aiding and supporting police in West Hawaiʻi.
