The Kona Crime Prevention Committee named Detective Anson Caceres its 2022 Police Officer of the Year.
Detective Caceres, who was named Officer of the Month for December 2022, was recognized for his efforts reviewing video surveillance footage that helped crack two murder investigations.
Between May 17, and June 7, 2022, detectives with Hawai‘i Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Section in Area I (east Hawai‘i) and Area II (west Hawai‘i) were investigating two murder cases in Kona and two attempted murder cases in Hilo. While each detective conducted a thorough investigation, Detective Caceres distinguished himself with his detailed and time-consuming work after volunteering to conduct video surveillance recovery and review. Recovering video of the first murder scene in Kona from the closest video system, a big-box store 100 yards away, Detective Caceres spent several days methodically reviewing the video surveillance in great detail. He then contacted multiple businesses in the Kona Old Industrial area and recovered numerous videos. By analyzing and piecing together the individual videos, he was able to follow the path of a suspicious passerby until he obtained a clear image of the individual. This process led to the identification of the suspect in the investigation. Area II detectives were able to locate and arrest the 24-year-old suspect, who was subsequently charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of second-degree attempted murder. Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee honors a West Hawaiʻi police officer as their Officer of the Month. Officers are nominated by their supervisors from the various police districts and a winner is selected by the KCPC board of directors. All officers selected for Officer of the Month are eligible to be selected as the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.
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