Local News

Scholarship honoring special agent’s memory is given to Maui student

The Maui News

WAILUKU -- After Special Agent John Bost III died in an accident while he was on duty at the Kihei Police Station, his family wanted to preserve his memory by doing something he was known for.

"John was always about giving back," said his mother, Joyce. "And our family wanted to honor him with giving back."

She said his legacy lives on in the John W. Bost III Memorial Scholarship, which was presented Friday at the Wailuku Police Station to 18-year-old Teani Kaluhikaua.

The scholarship is one of three yearly scholarships of $1,500 awarded in his name to children of law enforcement officers in the Maui Police Department, Charlotte Mecklenberg Police Department in North Carolina and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, representing the agencies where Bost served during his law enforcement career.

Bost's mother, brother Matthew and longtime family friend Sally McKeever traveled from North Carolina for the presentation of the inaugural Maui scholarship that went to Kaluhikaua, who is the daughter of Maui Police Department employee Kathy Platt and MPD officer Jeffrey Platt. Also attending the presentation were Bost's significant other, Eren Kamiyama, and Special Agent G. Leong of the Honolulu office of the ATF.

Kaluhikaua, who will be a sophomore at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., said she was "honored and grateful, especially since this is honoring his legacy."

"It's very special," she said. "I didn't know him, but I heard about what he's done to help others."

Bost, who graduated in 2000 from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a degree in criminal justice, was a police officer in Charlotte from 2000 to 2006 before becoming a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in 2006. In 2015, he was assigned to be the sole ATF special agent on Maui and was embedded with MPD at the Kihei Police Station.

It was while he was working alone there, on July 28, 2020, that he died after an accidental discharge of a rifle, police said. He was 41.

"Special Agent Bost was an outstanding law enforcement officer, admired and respected by all that knew him," MPD Lt. Audra Sellers said during the presentation. "He served with great distinction throughout his career. He was deeply committed to the mission of safeguarding our communities from violent criminals."

She said Bost also was "devout in his faith" and "had a charismatic personality that resulted in instantaneous friendships."

"A lot of people loved John," Sellers said.

Scholarship applicants also had to be enrolled in college and between the ages of 17 and 21. An essay and background information were part of the selection process.

Sellers said Kaluhikaua, who is pursuing a degree in digital film, constructed 65 bunk beds for children in need and helped paint houses in Phoenix with Habitat for Humanity. In 2019, she graduated from the FBI National Academy Associates Youth Leadership Program in Quantico, Va., where she received a Yellow Brick award for completing a rigorous obstacle course. She was recently admitted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

"Like John, she is devout in her faith and has a deep commitment to making a difference within the community," Sellers said.

Bost was athletic and "always placed the needs of others before himself," his mother said after the ceremony.

"No matter what he did, he strived for being the best," she said. "It was never about him. It was about the team."

Sellers said working with Bost was "amazing."

"He made you want to be better," she said. "You meet these people everybody instantly loves. He had this way of talking to people. It was incredible."

His brother said Bost loved Hawaii and appreciated how MPD "made him feel like family."

"He loved being in Maui," Matthew Bost said. "He loved the people, the whole atmosphere."