Six career police officers each with more than two decades in law enforcement are the finalists for Honolulu police chief, according to biographical information released yesterday.

Four are veterans of the Ho-nolulu Police Department and the other two have ties to Hawai'i. The six have post-graduate degrees. One has a doctorate in education and another is licensed to practice law in two states.

The Honolulu Police Commission will hear public testimony on the six candidates at its meeting today.

The commission has come under fire for naming six finalists last Friday instead of the four recommended by a selection committee earlier in the week.

Two of the five selection committee members also resigned in protest.

Police commission chairwoman Christine Camp said she asked that two names be added to expand the pool of candidates. She has stated repeatedly that the chief has not been pre-selected and that no one has attempted to exert influence on the committee or the commission.

The four original finalists are Acting Chief Paul Putzulu, Honolulu police Capt. Louis Kealoha, Phoenix police Cmdr. Harry Markley and Chicago police Cmdr. Gary Yamashiroya.

The two added later are HPD assistant chiefs Delbert Tatsuyama and Debora Tandal.

Camp said the commission will name the new chief by Thanksgiving.

EXPERIENCE

The commission released short biographies of the six finalists yesterday:

• Kealoha has a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California .

Currently captain of HPD's Juvenile Services Division, his longest stop moving up the command chain was six years as a lieutenant in the Training Division.

Kealoha also received a master of science in criminal justice administration from Chaminade University and has dual bachelor's degrees from there, majoring in both human services and occupational education.

Since 1999, he has been an adjunct professor at Chaminade's Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

• Markley is commander of the Phoenix Police Department's Laboratory Services Bureau. Most recently, he was the commander of the Arizona Law Enforcement Basic Training Academy, which serves all Arizona law enforcement officers.

Markley was raised in Phoenix, but received his bachelor's degree in business and economics from Hawaii Loa College, which later merged with what is now Hawai'i Pacific University.

He later received a master's in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.

• Putzulu was picked by the commission as acting chief after Boisse Correa stepped down in August.

He had been deputy chief of field operations since November 2002. His longest stop during his 37-year HPD career was nine years as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division.

Putzulu received a master of science degree in administration from Central Michigan University. He received his bachelor's degree in general studies from Chaminade University.

• Tandal became assistant chief of HPD's Support Services Bureau in February 2008. Before that, she spent nearly two years as the major in charge of the Pearl City Police Station. During her 30 years on the force, she spent eight years as a sergeant in the Pearl City/Wai'anae area.

She received a master of arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix. She has a bachelor's degree in justice management from Chaminade University.

Tandal is a part-time instructor at Honolulu Community College, teaching criminal justice, report writing, criminal investigation and criminal law and ethics.

• Tatsuyama has spent the past several years as head of HPD's Administrative Services Bureau, which is tasked with training, human resources and finance. Before that he was a major in the Finance Division.

He received his master of business administration degree from Chaminade University. He got his bachelor of science degree in criminal justice management.

Tatsuyama was HPD's manager of the year in 2008.

• Yamashiroya is the Chicago Police Department's Area 3 Detective Division commander. Before that, he was 23rd District commander .

He received his juris doctorate from DePaul University College of Law and is licensed to practice in both Illinois and Hawai 'i. He earned his bachelor's degree in information and decision sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

In 1999-2000, Yamashiroya took a leave to work with the United Nations mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and is also presently assisting the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in an initiative that is working with Mexican law enforcement.

Yamashiroya's father grew up in Hawai 'i and the candidate said he spent a lot of time with relatives here.

Both Mainland candidates told The Advertiser yesterday that when they fly to Honolulu next week for their final interviews, they will be making their third trips to Hawai 'i in recent months in connection with the chief's search.

Markley and Yamashiroya said they are paying their own way for those trips.