Like many others, I was surprised by last week’s news that one of the police officers indicted on federal charges stemming from a violent incident at a local game room last September was a 77-year old reserve police officer.

Senator Will Espero reacted to the officer’s age, as Civil Beat reported (“How Old Is Too Old for a Cop?“).

According to Civil Beat:

Assistant Police Chief Dave Kajihiro responded to Espero’s email Thursday, saying that the Americans With Disability Act prevented the department from implementing a mandatory retirement age for officers.

So are we stuck with aging law enforcement officers at all levels due to the federal law?

The quick answer is a simple “no”.

HPD’s claim that it’s stymied by the legal requirements of the Americans With Disability Act apparently isn’t true.

Here’s an excerpt from a publication of the International Association of Firefighters.

The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) permanently exempts fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, and police officers from the federal ban on age limits and employment.

The new law authorizes state and local governments to establish mandatory retirement ages of at least 55, as well as maximum hiring ages. It is also retroactive to January 1, 1994, to cover municipalities whose age limits became illegal when the ADEA took affect for public safety personnel.

And here’s the relevant section from the law itself.

It shall not be unlawful for an employer which is a State, a political subdivision of a State, an agency or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivision of a State, or an interstate agency to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual because of such individual’s age if such action is taken-

(1) with respect to the employment of an individual as a firefighter or as a law enforcement officer, the employer has complied with section 3(d)(2) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Amendments of 1996 if the individual was discharged after the date described in such section, and the individual has attained-

(A) the age of hiring or retirement, respectively, in effect under applicable State or local law on March 3, 1983; or

(B) (i) if the individual was not hired, the age of hiring in effect on the date of such failure or refusal to hire under applicable State or local law enacted after September 30, 1996; or

(ii) if applicable State or local law was enacted after September 30, 1996, and the individual was discharged, the higher of-

(I) the age of retirement in effect on the date of such discharge under such law; and

(II) age 55; and

(2) pursuant to a bona fide hiring or retirement plan that is not a subterfuge to evade the purposes of this chapter.

So why did HPD misunderstand the law? That’s one important unanswered question.

And what is the deal with the reserve officer program?

It doesn’t get in the news much.

My dad was a reserve HPD officer back in the 1950s. At one time, he was president of the “Keys & Whistles” organization, which I think was made up of reserve officers and supporters.

I found a Star-Bulletin story dated April 11, 2000 about the program (“Lawyer by day, Cop by night“).

Charlie Dang is one of the few Honolulu police officers who is not concerned with pay. That’s because he gets no pay.

Dang is one of 68 Honolulu Police Department reserve officers who volunteer at least one night a week to serve the community.

Faced with a shortage and retirements, HPD is looking for at least 32 more reserves. For the first time since 1992, HPD is hoping to bolster its reserve force, with the newest group of recruits to be assigned to the Kaneohe/Kailua areas.

A 2002 opinion by the Honolulu Ethics Commission provided this summary:

A reserve police officer serves for no pay, but receives reimbursement for a automobile fuel expended in the service of HPD and is covered under the city’s workers compensation and disabilities programs. The job description for a reserve officer is similar to that of a regular officer. Like a regular officer, a reserve officer must follow HPD’s Standards of Conduct, is issued and carries a firearm, carries a badge, wears the standard HPD uniform, possesses and uses all the authority of a police officer and receives supervision from HPD. A reserve officer is limited in the number of hours available to work and there is no promotion available. There are about 75 reserve officers at HPD.

Here’s a paragraph from the city’s 2006-2007 annual report.

The Reserve Officer program enlists the services of qualified citizens to perform emergency police duties. Reserve officers provide additional police protection to the public with emphasis on supplementing the patrol divisions. The Reserve Officer program has 100 authorized positions, 78 of which are currently filled. The reserve officers work without compensation or financial obligation from the City and County of Honolulu. The reserve officers are assigned to a specific division where they work five hours a week. In addition to their regular assignments, they assist the CAS with various special events such as Police Week, Drug Abuse Resistance Education Day, Troy Barboza Torch Run, Memorial Day, Explorers’ Conference, Honolulu City Lights Electric Light Parade and the annual city employees’ Christmas party. At year’s end, reserve officers provided the city with a total of 16,623 hours of police service.

How many are there today? Don’t know. The reserve program isn’t mentioned in the department’s most recent annual report, except that several reserve officers are listed among retirees or award recipients.

The reserve officer indicted in the Honolulu case (and who entered a guilty plea last week), Joseph A. Becera, was listed among the 2014 retirees, with 37 years of service. And Becera was a four-time winner of “reserve officer of the year” honors.

I wonder what perks reserve officers enjoy, if any? Can they take special duty assignments for pay by third parties? Do their badges get them special treatment that no one talks about? I recall back a few decades when key legislators were awarded honorary deputy sheriff’s badges that could be used to get free parking and other benefits.

In any case, it seems like some follow-up is in order on the whole reserve officer program.