(BIVN) – A Puna patrol officer with the Hawaiʻi Police Department was honored earlier this year with the Hawaiʻi County Council’s Haweo Award.

Puna Patrol Officer Chyann Gabriel was given the award on February 7, 2024, during a ceremony held at the council chambers in Hilo.

Police say Officer Gabriel was recognized for “her diligence in conducting two theft investigations that resulted in suspects being held accountable for their crimes,” the police department reported.

From a Hawaiʻi Police Department news release:

Officer Gabriel, who has been with the department for two-and-a-half years, was recognized for her proactive police work in an October 2023 theft investigation in which several items were removed from two vehicles, as well as from the exterior of a Kurtistown residence. The items included several tools, vehicle keys, and a gas card.

Officer Gabriel conducted multiple follow-ups, recovering video surveillance and still photos of the suspect, who used the gas card at multiple locations in Puna and Hilo using several vehicles. Officer Gabriel was able to positively identify the suspect from the surveillance evidence she recovered, as well as from her prior police contact with the male suspect.

Her highly detailed and advanced investigation included the drafting of a Parras Warrant for the suspect. Officer Gabriel then located and arrested the suspect, resulting in the man being charged with multiple property criminal offenses with a total bail of $9,500.

Earlier in 2023, Officer Gabriel conducted another in-depth investigation that lead to a charging decision of a suspect who she had arrested for multiple felony firearms offenses.

In her short tenure with Hawai‘i Police Department Officer Gabriel has established herself as a devoted officer and proactive investigator and in doing so she positively motivates her peers as well.

The department noted that haweo, for which the award is named, means to glow or to be radiant.