Maui Police Chief Thomas Phillips will retire on June 1, 2009 after serving 33 years with the department, nearly 11 of them as Chief.

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Maui Police Chief Tom Phillips. Photo by Wendy Osher.

“It has truly been an honor to serve as your Chief, and I want to thank each and every one of you for the job that you do each day to make this community safe,” said Phillips upon publicly announcing his retirement Friday.

“Having traveled to many parts of the country this past decade and learning about police agencies nationwide, I can’t think of a better department than ours. This is because of you and your continued dedication to the community we serve. I am leaving at a time when I still love this job and look forward to coming to work each day, but it is time to move on and spend a little more quality time with my family,” said Phillips.

“I am confident in the youthful leadership of our Department, who, along with the next Police Chief, will lead this agency to excellence in the very challenging economic times to come,” Phillips said.

The milestones of Chief Phillips career are as follows:

• Hired on March 1, 1976
• Promoted to Sergeant in 1983 and assigned to the Criminal Investigation Division. He was later assigned to the Vice Division and worked within that division as the Narcotics Sergeant from 1984-1987
• Promoted to Lieutenant in 1988 and assigned to Molokai Patrol District, he was later reassigned back to the Vice Division in 1989 as the Narcotics Commander.
• Promoted to Captain in 1990 and assigned to the Molokai Patrol District. Again, he was later reassigned back to the Vice Division as the Vice Commander
• Promoted to Major in 1991 and served as the commander of Night Operations and Special Assignments
• Promoted to Assistant Chief in 1995 as the Commander of the Support Services Bureau
• Promoted to Deputy Chief in 1996
• Promoted to Chief of Police on August 1, 1998

Maui Police Department’s Police Commission will be meeting on March 9, 2009, to discuss, and finalize the application process of selecting the next Chief of Police.

(Posted by Wendy OSHER © 2009)