HONOLULU (KHON2) – Every month the Kona Crime Prevention Committee will honor an officer as their Officer of the Month. 

For the month of January, Officer Manuel Soares was recognized for his work ethic when he tracked down a stolen car in Kona last winter. 

Soares had been with the force for almost two years at the time of the incident. He said while patrolling he overheard the report of a stolen vehicle and began searching for that car. 

According to Hawaii Police Department, the victim’s daughter reported seeing the stolen vehicle with a female driver and male passenger near a beach park. 

The victim’s daughter followed the vehicle and gave her current location to police dispatch. From the information provided to him, Officer Soares was able to locate the stolen vehicle during a traffic stop.

After confirming the people in the car did not have permission to use or operate the vehicle, he arrested them and recovered illegal drugs and paraphernalia. 

“Officer Soares has a tremendous work ethic,” said Kona Patrol Sergeant David Araki, who nominated Officer Soares for the award. “He is self-motivated and a selfless officer that is striving to make our community a safer place to live and work.”

Officer Soares was nominated by his supervisor and each officer of the month has the opportunity to win the Kona Crime Prevention Committee’s Officer of the Year.