Sherry Bird Selected as Hawaiʻi Police Deputy Chief; If Approved, First Woman

Police Chief Reed K. Mahuna has selected Assistant Chief Sherry Bird to serve as deputy chief of the Hawaiʻi Police Department, an appointment that is slated for consideration by the Hawaiʻi County Police Commission and would make Bird the first woman to hold the deputy chief post in the department’s 83-year history if approved.

The Police Commission is scheduled to consider the appointment on Friday, March 20 at 9 a.m. Notices list the location as the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center; some public materials specify the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center’s Council Chambers in Kailua-Kona. The commission is the approving body that must vote to finalize the deputy chief appointment.

Bird was promoted to assistant chief of the Administration Bureau in February 2025, a move that made her the highest-ranking woman in the department’s history. In her assistant chief role she oversees the Special Response Team, the Administrative Services Division, and the Technical Services Division. The Administrative Services Division explicitly includes the Training Section, Word Processing Center, Accreditation, Safety, Human Resources, Finance, and Community Relations.

Her career assignments recorded by the department and news reports trace a long path through Hawaiʻi Island policing: patrol officer in North Kohala and Kona, officer in the Criminal Intelligence Unit, detective and lieutenant in Area II Vice, lieutenant in the Area II Criminal Investigation Division, patrol captain for South Kohala, major of the Area II (Kona) Field Operations Bureau, and major of the Administrative Services Division prior to becoming assistant chief.

News outlets refer to Bird’s length of service as 28 years with the department, while the Hawaiʻi Police Department’s own promotion posting lists 27 years of service. The discrepancy appears across source materials and has not been reconciled in published notices.

Chief Mahuna praised Bird’s record in announcing the selection, saying, “Assistant Chief Bird’s selection reflects both her proven leadership and the breadth and depth of her experience across virtually every facet of this department. She has demonstrated strong administrative expertise as well as operational knowledge gained from years working in investigations, patrol, and command positions.” Mahuna added, “Her appointment is historic for our department, and I am confident her leadership will continue to strengthen our service to the Hawaii Island community.”

The department’s personnel activity follows a series of promotions announced by Hawaiʻi Police Department materials under the headline “Police Announce 38 Promotions, Including First-Ever Female Assistant Chief.” That release lists promotions effective February 1, 2025 and documents a January 29, 2025 ceremony that recognized those promoted, awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to Reserve Officer Theodore Hamada for 50 years of service, and included the swearing-in of Police Chaplain Jeremy Barrientos. The department live streamed the January 29 ceremony on its social platforms.

Chief Mahuna himself was sworn in privately on February 20 in Mayor Kimo Alameda’s office in Hilo, with county officials saying a public swearing-in would take place March 6. A photo used by Big Island Video News carried the caption, “photo of Assistant Chief Sherry Bird courtesy Hawaiʻi Police Department,” while a Hawaiʻi Police Department photo credit line names Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz, Assistant Chief Sherry Bird, Mayor Kimo Alameda, and Police Commissioner John Bertsch.

For follow-up or media requests, the Hawaiʻi Police Department lists non-emergency phone (808) 935-3311 and the administrative address 349 Kapiʻolani Street, Hilo, HI 96720. The Police Commission vote on March 20 will determine whether Bird assumes the deputy chief post and that milestone for the island’s law enforcement history.