(BIVN) – Eight candidates have been announced for the next chief of the Hawaiʻi County Police Department.

In a Thursday news release, the County of Hawaiʻi named the candidates, listing them in alphabetical order by last name:

• Chad Janis – Captain, Yakima (Washington) Police Department.
• Jennifer Krauss – Assistant Chief, Cheverly (Maryland) Police Department.
• Anthony Kumamaru – retired Lieutenant, Las Vegas (Nevada) Department of Public Safety.
• Reed Mahuna – Interim Police Chief, Hawaiʻi Police Department.
• John Matagi – Captain, Washington State Patrol.
• Kenneth Quiocho – Assistant Chief, Hawaiʻi Police Department.
• Timothy Wilson – former Chief of Police, Niue, Pacific Islands.
• Paul Yang – retired Lieutenant, San Diego (California) Police Department.

“The Police Commission invited 11 applicants to be interviewed and set a deadline of Jan. 20 for them to respond,” the County noted.

The Hawaiʻi County Police Commission will be interviewing the candidates at the West Hawaiʻi Civic Center in Kona on Thursday, January 29 and Friday, January 30. The interviews will be conducted in person and during open session, officials say.

The meetings will begin at 9 a.m. each day inside the County Council Chambers, and the sessions will be livestreamed via Zoom:

• Thursday, Jan. 29
  www.zoomgov.com/j/1605555204
• Friday, Jan. 30
  www.zoomgov.com/j/1601026847

In August 2025, previous Police Chief Benjamin Moszkowicz stepped down after the Police Commission denied his request to withdraw his resignation by a 4-4 vote. Since that time, Deputy Police Chief Reed Mahuna – one of the 8 candidates for the position – has been serving as Interim Police Chief.