When a Hawaii Police Department officer saw two swimmers in distress at a popular west Hawai‘i beach last summer, he jumped into action without hesitation, risking his safety to help rescue two women. For his selfless actions, Kona Patrol Officer Reuben Pukahi was honored with the Haweo Award during a ceremony held at Hawai‘i County Council chambers in Kona on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.

The award was presented by the Council’s Parks and Recreation and Public Safety Committee (PRPSC), which recognizes county police and fire department personnel who go above and beyond the call of duty. Haweo, for which this award is named, means to glow or to be radiant. Officer Pukahi was presented with a lei and a certificate signed by each Councilmember at the ceremony.

On August 10, 2021, Officer Pukahi, along with Kona Community Policing Sergeant Michael Hardie, were at Honl’s Beach Park on Ali‘i Drive addressing community complaints of undesirable activities in the area. Surf conditions that day made it very dangerous for amateur and inexperienced beach goers.

Sergeant Hardie and Officer Pukahi observed a young boy, who appeared to be a tourist, with a body board attempting to enter the water. It was apparent he didn’t have the experience to safely handle the treacherous surf conditions. As the officers were speaking with the boy, they observed two older women attempting to enter the water on the opposite side of the beach. The women also appeared to be tourists, unaware of the dangers posed by the large surf, and were both carrying masks and snorkels, but no swim fins.

Before officers could intervene, the two women entered the water and were quickly separated and swept away from shore by the strong currents, directly into the path of the large breaking surf.

The women began to tread water but weren’t able to swim toward shore. Seeing the women in distress, some area surfers started paddling over to assist them.

Seeing that the situation was getting worse and more assistance was needed, Officer Pukahi quickly changed out of his police uniform and into his traditional surf attire and commandeered a bystander’s surfboard. Paddling through the surf to one of the women, Officer Pukahi pulled her onto his surfboard just as she was about to be swept onto the rocks and brought her back to shore safely.

Both women sustained only minor abrasions and were very grateful for the life-saving actions of Officer Pukahi and the other surfers.

“It’s very rare that a supervisor gets the opportunity to be involved in and directly witness the selfless actions of an officer assigned to their unit,” says Sergeant Hardie, who is Officer Pukahi’s supervisor.

“Officer Pukahi is an avid, experienced waterman who was fully capable to assist in this situation and it was a blessing that he was present during this incident. If not for the assistance of Officer Pukahi and assisting surfers, this incident could have undoubtedly ended in tragedy.”