15 year HPD veteran officer Murray Toledo was recently recognized by the Aloha Exchange Club of East Hawaiʻi as Officer of the Month for November 2021 for addressing a long-standing problem in his community.

As the School Resource Officer for Waiakea Intermediate School, Officer Toledo took charge of conducting traffic direction during the school’s drop-off and pick-up times, often taking the brunt of the drivers’ frustrations.  After realizing that although his efforts in traffic direction were helping, a permanent solution was needed Officer Toledo set out to develop a short and long-term plan to address the congestion.

He quickly got all the stakeholders together from various county and state agencies to discuss the problem, develop a plan, and facilitate its implementation. Through his perseverance, he overcame  unforeseen obstacles among the stakeholders. He worked hard to negotiate an amicable solution everyone could live with, creating a sense of cooperation between all entities.  Additionally, in order to ensure the completion of the project, he volunteered his own time to stripe and assist in paving for the project.

Officer Toledo’s hard work and his ability to bring people together to focus on a common goal resulted in the creation of new larger and improved parking areas plus upgraded drop-off and pick-up lanes for two schools, which has tremendously reduced traffic congestion and driver complaints. In all, the project only took three months.

In addition to his work on the school traffic issues, Officer Toledo was also lauded for his sincere concern for youth.

Photo credit: Hawaiʻi County Police Department