Hawaiʻi Police Department
Office of the Chief
Chief Harry S. Kubojiri
Phone: 961-2244
Officer of the Month: Marlin Hopson
Media Release
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee recognized Officer Marlin Hopson as “Officer of the Month” for March in a luncheon ceremony Wednesday (March 4) at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
Hopson was honored for providing assistance beyond the call of duty to two shipwrecked persons.
On May 18, 2014, Officer Hopson responded to a report that a 45-foot sailboat had run aground at the Old Airport Beach Park. The couple on the boat had sailed from New Mexico to Hawaiʻi. The owner, who is blind, lost his navigation aids on the way to Honokohau Harbor, causing the boat to run ashore at night. The pair managed to swim to shore but their belongings were left behind and couldn’t be retrieved because of darkness and rough surf.
Hopson invited the couple to spend that night in his home and they accepted.
“Officer Hopson exemplified the Hawaiʻi Police Department’s core values of compassion and community satisfaction, going above and beyond to help these victims, said Sergeant Akira Edmoundson, who nominated Hopson for the honor.
As “Officer of the Month,” Hopson 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.