Community Forums invites the public Thursday night, March 15, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m. to the West Hawai‘i Civic Center for the lasted community forum featuring an informative session about active shooter awareness, preparedness and response. This session will feature Lt. Thomas Shopay, formerly of the Hawai‘i Police Department and Konawaena High School Principal Shawn Suzuki.

Lt. Shopay is a Kona resident and has worked for the Hawai‘i Police Department for over 18 years and the majority of that time was spent with the Special Response Team (SRT), based out of Hilo. Lt. Shopay participated with SRT initially as a team member, was promoted to team sergeant and later promoted to tactical commander.

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Lt. Shopay recently transferred to Kona Patrol as a shift commander to further his experience and be closer to home. Lt. Shopay is a recipient of the Hawai‘i Police Department’s Silver Medal of Valor and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Suzuki is the Principal of Konawaena High School. Now in his 29th year in the DOE, 16th year as Konawaena High principal. He has a B.Ed. in music and M.Ed in education administration both from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.