Two Retired Maui Officers Join MPD Reserve Program

Two recently retired Maui Police Department Officers were sworn today in as the newest Reserve Police Officers in Maui County, bringing the total up to four officers currently in the program.

Tod Wong and Samuel Gasmen retired as Police Sergeants at the end of last year with 29 and 28 years of service respectively. As part of his duties Wong will continue to oversee the department’s bicycle patrol program, which was his role before he retired.  Gasmen will continue his work as a member of the department’s Cyber-crime Unit.

Tod Wong (retired as a Police Sergeant with 29 years of service), Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu and Samuel Gasmen (retired as a Police Sergeant with 28 years of service).

The other two current reserve officers were Firearms Instructors before retiring and are currently volunteering as firearms instructors for the Training Section and the Records Section.

The Maui Police Department created a Reserve Officer Program in 2018 as an opportunity for officers who retired from the Maui Police Department in good standing to continue their service as part-time volunteer officers.

The program also was intended to supplement the current shortage of police officers in the department by having Reserve Officers fill-in areas of need, especially in specialized services.

Reserve Officers kept all their previous certifications and the department will continue to maintain those certifications as well as provide recurrent training. The officers will have all the same enforcement responsibilities and authority as current officers.

As the department is also looking into accepting lateral transfers from mainland law enforcement agencies, the Reserve Officers will be assigned to assist as instructors to train these transfers.