Chief Mahuna to host public talk story in Kailua-Kona
Kailua-Kona residents will get an hour with Chief Reed Mahuna at the West Hawaii Civic Center, where response times and traffic enforcement should be on the table.
Police Chief Reed Mahuna will meet Kailua-Kona residents for an informal Talk Story with the Chief session on Wednesday, July 29, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the West Hawaii Civic Center, 174-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway. The free session is meant to give the public a direct forum to raise safety concerns, and the most pointed questions are likely to center on response times, traffic enforcement, crime hot spots and community trust in West Hawaii.
The Hawaii Police Department says the talk-story format is intended to improve community engagement and address public safety concerns in an open, conversational setting. For residents, that means the hour in Kailua-Kona is not just a chance to listen but a chance to ask what is being done, where patrols are being focused and how the department measures whether the public feels heard after the meeting ends.
The West Hawaii stop is part of a broader series that has already taken Mahuna to Waimea, Keaau, Kapaau, Hilo and Honokaa. By moving the sessions from community to community across Hawaii Island, the department is signaling that the outreach is meant to reach more than one district and to collect concerns from different parts of the island rather than funneling them through a single office.
Mahuna’s role at the top of the department has changed quickly over the past year. He became interim chief effective Sept. 1, 2025, after the departure of former chief Ben Moszkowicz, then was selected by the Hawaii County Police Commission on Jan. 30, 2026. He was formally sworn in during a public ceremony set for March 6, 2026.
A nearly 28-year veteran of the Hawaii Police Department, Mahuna started as a South Hilo patrol officer in 1998. The department says it was established in July 1943 and has had 12 police chiefs, placing the Kona talk story inside a long-running institution that is now taking its case for public trust directly into local civic space.
For Kailua-Kona, the relevant question after the chairs are folded and the meeting is over will be whether the concerns raised at the civic center lead to visible follow-up on patrol priorities, traffic enforcement and neighborhood safety in West Hawaii.
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