Maui Police Department promotes six officers to Sergeant

The Maui Police Department announced the promotion of six officers to the rank of Sergeant.  All promotions are scheduled to take effect on April 2, 2023. The promotions include: Chase Bell, James Burkett, Carl Eguia, Jonathan Honda, Frank Kuamoo II and Randy Takayama.

Sergeant Chase Bell joined the department in 2014, where he began his career as a Police Officer I in the Kīhei Patrol District, followed by a one-year tour in the Hāna Patrol District.   From 2017 to 2019, he served in Wailuku Patrol District until transferring to his most recent assignment in the Vice Narcotics Division. Sergeant Bell has also served as a member of the Special Response Team since 2019.

Sergeant James Burkett joined the department in 2011, where he began his career as a Police Officer I in the Lahaina Patrol District, followed by a transfer to Wailuku Patrol District. In 2017, he transferred to the Traffic Division Solo Bike Detail until being assigned in 2021 to his most recent assignment in the Hāna Patrol District.   During his tenure in the Traffic Division, he served as a member of the SPEED Team.

Before his employment with the Maui Police Department, Sergeant Burkett served as a police officer in Texas for seven years. In 2008, he worked for the US Department of State as a Police Advisor and later as a Base Commander in western and central Iraq before moving to Maui in 2010.

Sergeant Burkett and his wife, Crista, have three-year-old twin daughters.

Sergeant Carl Eguia joined the department in 2005, where he began his career as a Police Officer I in the Lahaina Patrol District, followed by a transfer to the Lānaʻi Patrol District. Upon his return from Lānaʻi, he worked in the Kīhei Patrol District, where he served as a Field Training Officer.

In 2012 Sergeant Eguia was assigned to the Traffic Division OUI Task Force, where he served for three years before transferring back to Lānaʻi Patrol.  In 2022, he began serving as the School Resource Officer at Lānaʻi High and Elementary School.

Sergeant Eguia and his wife, Ciera, have a daughter Pi’ilani.

Sergeant Jonathan Honda joined the department in 2011, where he served as a Police Officer I in the Wailuku Patrol District, followed by a transfer to the Molokaʻi Patrol District.   In 2016, Sergeant Honda transferred into the Juvenile Crime Prevention Division as the School Resource Officer for Maui Waena Intermediate School until 2018, when he became the School Resource Officer for Maui High School.  

Sergeant Honda served seven years as a tactical operator on the Special Response Team.  He serves as a member of the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth; and volunteers for Special Olympics Hawai’i and the Maui Police Activities League.

Sergeant Frank Kuamoo II joined the department in 1992 as a Police Officer I in the Wailuku Patrol District before being assigned in 1994 to the Molokaʻi Patrol District.  In 1995 he returned to the Wailuku Patrol District, where he served for three years before transferring to the Crime Reduction Unit. In 2000 he left the department to pursue other endeavors.

In 2011 Sergeant Kuamoo returned to the department as a Police Officer I in the Kīhei Patrol District, where he also served as a Field Training Officer.  His most recent assignment since 2018 was as the Wailuku Parking and Traffic Enforcement Officer, directing traffic for Wailuku Elementary School, fronting the Wailuku Public Library in the mornings and afternoons.

Sergeant Kuamoo assists in training police recruits as an Arrest and Defense Tactics and Traffic Control instructor.

Sergeant Kuamoo and his wife, Sonya, have six children and one grandchild.

Sergeant Randy Takayama joined the department in 2008, where he began his career as a Police Officer I in the Wailuku Patrol District and remained throughout his career. He received a Certificate of Merit in 2013 for his actions while on patrol and has served as a Field Training Officer.  Sergeant Takayama is also a member of the Crisis Intervention Team.

The Maui Police Department congratulated each officer on their promotions.  “Their hard work and dedication to our agency and community are greatly appreciated,” the department said in a news release announcement.