The History of Hawai‘i From Our Files: There’s a New Police Chief in Town

HONOLULU Magazine emerged from Paradise of the Pacific, a publication commissioned by King Kalākaua that began in 1888, making it the oldest continuously published magazine west of the Mississippi. For this issue, we flipped back 40 years to see what life was like back in 1983.

In 1983, Douglas Glenn Gibb took over when former chief Francis Keala retired after 17 years.

For his interview with HONOLULU Magazine, Kaua‘i-born Police Chief Douglas Gibb was dressed in his uniform, breaking a “35-year tradition”—the two police chiefs before him, Dan Liu and Francis Keala, didn’t wear one. “My police officers should know that I am wearing this uniform out of respect for what they have to do,” he tells HONOLULU.

At 43 years old, Gibb is the third-youngest police chief in HPD history. His appointment was a surprise to many, including 10 candidates who were senior to him in age and departmental experience.

Gibb, a Punahou graduate, joined HPD in 1967. Ten years later, he became the head of HPD’s sting operations and was widely praised for his instrumental role in “Operation Hukilau.” Gibb explains to HONOLULU that the operation involved a fake electronics firm set up to look like it was fencing stolen goods. The operation resulted in more than 300 arrests, the recovery of property and the prevention of about $16 million in economic losses.

SEE ALSO: Honolulu Police Department’s First Woman Chief Spent 32 Years on the Force

Douglas Gibb was the first HPD police chief to wear a uniform in more than 30 years.

Not long after Gibb became chief, he raised eyebrows by ripping away the veil of secrecy that had long surrounded the Police Commission’s investigations of alleged civil rights violations by department officers. He suspended two officers without pay, reprimanded two others and insisted that a fifth undergo counseling, as HONOLULU reported.

Gibb says “the accessibility of weapons” might be to blame for the rising violent crime of the time involving weapons and agreed that a tougher gun control law would help since “the number of guns floating around in this community is horrendous.”

Gibb retired from HPD in 1989 and moved to Iowa with his family, where he died in 2012. During his career, Gibb was sought as an adviser for numerous sting operations across the country, and the impact he made in the community was clear. After his death, a memorial visitation was held in his honor at Borthwick Mortuary in Honolulu—more than 300 people paid their respects.

SEE ALSO: What It’s Like Being a Police Captain and Father During the Pandemic

Earlier this year, on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Gov. Josh Green signed two new gun measures into law: One allowed more leniency for people to carry concealed firearms; the other restricted guns across the state in locations such as state buildings, parks, public transportation, schools and hospitals.

The current HPD chief, Joe Logan, joined the department in 1982, the same year that Gibb was awarded HPD Policeman of the Year. Gibb was appointed as chief a year later, and Logan worked under Gibb’s tutelage for seven years. Logan worked in the Windward district patrol, vice and traffic divisions, before being assigned to the criminal investigation division as a detective. He left HPD in 2002 and spent 18 years with the Hawai‘i Army National Guard before retiring as the adjutant general. He was sworn in as Honolulu’s 12th chief of police in June 2022.

FAST FACT: On Oct. 31, 1796, British captain Henry Barber wrecked his ship to the west of Pearl Harbor, which is now known as Barbers Point.

The Chief

The October ’83 cover features Douglas Gibb, the newly appointed Honolulu police chief. Fifty days into his appointment, Gibb sat down with HONOLULU and discussed his plans, the court, violent cops and a wide range of crime problems that were arising.

Learn more about the evolution of covers in HONOLULU Magazine and Paradise of the Pacific: 125 Years of Covers, available at shop.honolulumagazine.com.