Reality TV star won’t help pick next Honolulu police chief

The wife of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality TV star Duane “Dog” Chapman won’t have a role in helping select the next chief of the Honolulu Police Department. (Photo: DOG The Bounty Hunter on A&E/ Facebook)

HONOLULU – The wife of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” reality TV star Duane “Dog” Chapman won’t have a role in helping select the next chief of the Honolulu Police Department.

The police commission during a meeting Wednesday decided to scrap plans for a citizen panel that would have helped screen candidates vying to replace Louis Kealoha, who retired amid a federal corruption investigation.

Commission Chairman Max Sword made headlines earlier this month by nominating Beth Chapman, touting her experience in the bail bonds business.

Commissioner Steve Levinson said he supports moving forward with the chief’s selection process without creating the five-member panel.

“I have been approached by a number of people … who have expressed consternation over one particular nomination,” he said. “My own sense is that the police commission has become an object of some derision and ridicule as a result of that nomination and I believe that’s unhealthy and not good for the commission.”

There was also some misunderstanding in the public about what the role of the panel members would be, Levinson said.

Commissioner Luella Costales agreed that the panel has become a distraction in the chief selection process, but said she’s hopeful there will still be some form of community input.

A citizen panel was used to help select chiefs in 2004 and 2009, according to commission Executive Officer Dan Lawrence.

About 30 people have applied for the chief position.

Beth Chapman said previously she would be honoured to serve on the volunteer panel if selected. On Wednesday, she told The Associated Press that she supports the commission’s decision. “The job of the picking our next police chief is so important that it can’t be sidetracked,” she said. “I’m fine with it, I’m good with it.”

A&E series “Dog the Bounty Hunter” was cancelled in 2012. The Chapmans, who live in Honolulu, later starred in “Dog and Beth: On the Hunt,” which aired on Country Music Television