HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Facebook post has angered some fire survivors after the Maui Police Department posted a photo of an award honoring the “Coroner’s Office” for outstanding work following the Lahaina disaster.

The post came just a few days after HNN Investigates aired an interview with the former contractor for the morgue department who said the recovery process was so badly handled that the ashes families received might not be their loved ones.

On Oct. 3, before the interview aired, HNN Investigates asked MPD if it followed protocols to respectfully and accurately recover the remains of people who died in the Lahaina fire. Chief John Pelletier declined to answer our questions.

Then, six days after the story aired, MPD announced on Facebook that the “Coroner’s Office” had been honored with the 2024 Forensic Bureau of the Year Award for excellence in death investigation following last year’s fire. It’s an office that HNN Investigates can’t confirm exists — despite asking MPD directly.

According to the website of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, the award was given months ago.

In the Oct. 14 Facebook post, MPD wrote, “Please join us in congratulating them on this remarkable achievement!”

It’s a message that didn’t sit well with some wildfire survivors like Rick Nava. He spoke to us from a construction site as crews worked to rebuild the home he lost in last year’s fire.

“When I saw that, I was like, really? This is from our management, are you doing this? Not! You don’t do that,” he said. “It’s childish.”

“This is part of their PR campaign against the news media and the truth,” Stanford Hill added. “Why don’t I just answer your questions? Your questions are our questions.”

Seven of Hill’s friends were killed when flames engulfed Hale Mahaolu Eono, a senior retirement community on Lahainaluna Road.

HNN is investigating

He says much of what officials have told them about who was found where they don’t congregate.

“I think it would be in poor taste to put the picture of that award,” Hill said.

HNN Investigates asked MPD why it chose to post a photo of the award. I didn’t get a reply.

“When you’re in that position, you have to be ready to take the bullet that comes your way. They didn’t. They hid behind the trophy case,” Nava said.

Common Cause Hawaii Program Manager Camron Hurt told HNN Investigates that he found the post “classless,” saying, “I would expect more from people who claim to protect and serve. Because at that moment you are protecting and serving only yourself. Not the community.”

Former MPD mortuary contractor Greyson Abarra said that in the days after the Lahaina fire, officers and officer recruits were ordered to collect the victim’s remains, even though they did not have adequate training.

Abarra says that as soon as he noticed that proper procedures were not being followed, he immediately provided MPD leadership with a copy of the Maui County Mass Casualty Operations Plan as well as a field operations guide that explained step-by-step what it had to be done.

When asked how MPD responded, Abarra said, “I don’t think the issue was understood.”

Now Hurt, along with community members, is calling on the Maui Police Commission to take action.

“They can start by bringing in the chief of police and having him answer their questions. So are questions and concerns from the public. I think it’s critical right now,” Hurt said.

The ship said, “You may not like the question that will come your way. But you know what, people have a right to know how these things were handled.”

“We have to have accountability,” Hill added.

The Maui Police Commission has canceled its regularly scheduled October meeting. We asked them why, but our question was not answered.

HNN Investigates has also reached out to the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, the organization that presented MPD with the award, seeking comment in light of the new information. I also asked if MPD would be able to keep the award.

We are waiting for a response.

Meanwhile, the head of Common Cause Hawaii shared this message: “We are making a call to action. We want to see statewide community engagement at the next Maui Police Commission.”

Hurt went on to say, “We’re asking everyone to appear in person. Maui still needs us. So let’s help raise that voice.”

The next police commission meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. at the Maui Service Center on Alaihi Street. Click here for more details.

In a statement received after HNN’s broadcast deadline, MPD spokeswoman Alana Pico wrote:

“Thank you for noticing the award from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. They awarded this because of the efforts of our forensics team, made up of medical examiners, and the work done during the August 2023 fires. In addition, the Hawaii Coalition for Law Enforcement and Security proudly presented our forensics team with the Judge C. Nils Award Tavares last week at the Top Cop Hawaii event for his extraordinary efforts in identifying the victims of the Maui wildfire.

It is vital that we understand that the continued discussion and discussion of the events that took place 14 months ago can cause enormous pain to our affected community and those who have lost loved ones. We want to be very careful when those wounds are reopened.

Regarding your questions, all of the information you are looking for has been thoroughly documented in the Hawaii Attorney General’s and MPD’s after action reports. The GPS coordinates are plotted in our after-action report, and the coordinates were published in the Attorney General’s report. In terms of protocols, we used best practices from our federal partners who worked with us, particularly the FEMA USAR teams (it should be noted that these teams worked on 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina recoveries and are the most important experts). We were also privileged to have the Department of Defense’s DOD team assist in the recovery of POWs and MAIs. This is the highest possible threshold and this is the practice used. We used all available personnel, including the police officers who were in the Academy at the time and other first responders, all of whom did an outstanding job.

The initial acts of that day and the days after the rescue, which unfortunately quickly became a recovery, is a painful and traumatic situation for all involved, and we sympathize and empathize with those who have lost loved ones. We are continually looking to be proactive and provide information not only to our department, but to departments nationally and internationally that may be going through critical incidents. The dramatic and dynamic catastrophic events from the multiple fires that have affected Maui have evolved rapidly, and where we can improve, we will certainly look at them. We thank the community for their resilience, trust and patience as we move forward.

The law and statutes establish the chief of police and other chiefs in the state as the coroner. As documented in our after-action report, the police department maintains the forensics unit that houses the morgue.

We ask that if you use our answer for your story, you do not make it fragmentary, but use it in its entirety.”

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.