Hawai‘i Police Department
Kona Community Policing Section
Sergeant Michael D. Hardie
Phone: (808) 326-4646 Ext. 259
Media Release
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee recently honored two Hawai‘i Police Department officers as Officer of the Month for May and June 2022, during an awards ceremony at Huggo’s on the Rocks in Kona on Wednesday, June 1, 2022.
Community Policing Officer Bryan Ellis was recognized as Officer of the Month for May 2022 for his strong work ethic and proactive policing.
An experienced officer with 20 years on the force, Officer Ellis takes the initiative to stay abreast of the most pressing community issues, working with partner county agencies, non-profit organizations, and community-based groups to address community concerns. Because of this, he is assigned to several of the areas in the Kona district that require the most attention. He also works toward initiating and creating new Neighborhood Watch (NHW) and Business Watch Programs in the community and remains in contact with these groups, working with them towards solving their concerns and issues.
A hard-working team player, Officer Ellis has developed a reputation amongst his peers as one of the leaders of the Kona Community Policing Section and is one of the “go-to” officers in the Section when guidance or training is needed.
“Officer Ellis has proven to be a hardworking, proactive, and highly capable police officer,” said Kona Community Policing Sergeant Michael Hardie, Officer Ellis’ supervisor who nominated him for the award.
“He [Ellis] is an asset to the Hawai’i Police Department and the community that he serves,” added Hardie.
Officer Len Hamakado was recognized as Officer of the Month for June 2022.
A nine-year veteran of the department, Officer Hamakado was lauded for his traffic enforcement and proactive policing efforts while he was working the graveyard (overnight) shift during April 2021. A certified Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), who can evaluate people operating their vehicle while under the influence of illegal/legal drugs, Officer Hamakado was responsible for nine DUI arrests, helping to keep our island roads safe. Of those nine arrests, six of the individuals were charged and an additional two arrests were routed to the County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
During the same month, Officer Hamakado was also the lead investigator for 22 criminal investigations, was the officer in charge of 17 non-criminal reports, made a total of 17 arrests (including the DUI arrests), and issued 109 traffic citations.
“Officer Hamakado has been a positive influence on our watch and the community,” said Kona Patrol Sergeant David Araki, Hamakado’s supervisor who nominated him for the award.
Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee honors a police officer in west Hawai‘i as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.
