Less than a day after Kauai Police Chief Darryl Perry was placed on leave -- Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho broke his silence about an internal investigation within the police department.
Mayor Carvalho read a four minute statement late Thursday and declined to take questions from reporters about a shake up of the department's top brass. Kauai county Mayor Bernard Carvalho says the decision to place Chief Darryl Perry and Assistant Chiefs Roy Asher and Ale Quibilan on leave was a direct result of an employee-generated complaint to the Police Commission.
"This is not the first time an employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation, and it should not be construed to be disciplinary in nature. Reputations are at stake, and we must refrain from making premature judgments."
Carvalho would not provide details of the complaint but sources tell KHON2 the complaint was filed by Darla Abbatiello, a 27 year veteran of KPD. In 1999, she was named Kauai police officer of the year. In 2007 she was awarded a $980,000 settlement for her role as a whistle-blower in a case involving an officer who was accused of selling an alleged drug dealer protection from prosecution.
"I have full confidence that this complaint will be handled appropriately, that we will take all actions we are obligated to take and that all of those actions will protect the interests of all involved, and the public at-large."
"I know the people that are involved, I know them personally, I know they're good men and women," said Rep. Jimmy Tokioka. "What's important right now is for the community and the department to really around the acting chief and to rally around the community itself."
Deputy Police Chief Michael Contrades is the acting chief.
"Our thoughts and prayers go to all the families and all the parties involved," said Rep. Derek Kawakami. "Kauai is a small community and these kind of things they don't go by unnoticed."
Kauai has had a string of issues involving past police chiefs.
In 1995, former chief Calvin Fujita retired after he was accused of favoring officers of Japanese ancestry. The federal civil rights lawsuit was dismissed five years later.
In 2003, Chief George Freitas retired after the Kauai Police Commission investigated claims that he hindered prosecution in a case involving an officer. He was eventually cleared of the charges.
And in 2006, the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste publicly expressed that he lost confidence in Chief K.C. Lum after 29 grievances had been filed against Lum during his tenure. It was the highest in KPD history. Lum retired several days before his contract was set to be rescinded. Chief Perry succeeded Lum.
"It concerns me deeply. I know KPD has worked over the past few years with the new chief in improving the morale and so this is definitely a big hit to our community," said Kawakami.
Chief Perry could not be reached for comment.
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Statement from Mayor Carvalho regarding the Kaua'i Police Department
Aloha!
Recent events regarding high-level personnel in the Kauai Police Department have raised questions and concerns in our community. There are many questions and some theories being circulated, and I would like to take this moment to address some of these issues.
The Chief of Police and two Assistant Chiefs are currently on leave, as a result of an employee-generated complaint to the Police Commission.
As is the duty of the Police Commission and the County, the complaint will be fully investigated and adjudicated. The Commission receives and handles complaints on a regular basis and has detailed rules and guidelines for doing so. Those rules and guidelines are public information available on the Commission's website for you to review.
In order to protect everyone involved in this matter, and to insure that the complaint is investigated properly, certain actions have been taken, including the placement on leave of the three high-ranking police officials.
Please note that this is not the first time an employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation, and it should not be construed to be disciplinary in nature. Reputations are at stake, and we must refrain from making premature judgments. I want to assure the public that these actions were not taken lightly, were made based upon legal advice, and were made in the best interest of all involved.
Questions have been raised as to my authority to place the Chief of Police on leave. I can assure you that I have that authority pursuant to Section 7.05 of the Kauai County Charter.
The bottom line is, I am the Chief Executive for the County of Kauai, and I am ultimately responsible for the day to day operations of ALL administrative County departments and divisions.
Over the past few days, I have been in communication with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Police Commission, and they have been fully informed of the steps that have been taken to insure the integrity of the disposition of the complaint.
Yesterday, I met with the interim KPD leadership team and I can assure you that they are well-prepared to manage the department during this time.
It is standard procedure to keep all information relative to the complaint confidential while the investigation is in process. The County will not reveal any information about the content of the complaint, nor will we confirm or deny any information presented by others about the matter while the investigation is ongoing.
In conclusion, I would like to state that I have full confidence that this complaint will be handled appropriately, that we will take all actions we are obligated to take, and that all of those actions will protect the interests of all involved, and the public at-large.
I also have full confidence that the interim leadership team of the Kauai Police Department, led by Acting Chief Michael Contrades and Acting Deputy Chief Mark Begley, that they will do what it takes to insure that our community is protected in the interest of public safety.
That concludes my comments. I will not be entertaining questions. If you have questions, you can direct them to my Communications Team and we will do our best to provide you answers to the extent that we can.
Aloha and Mahalo.
