WAIPOULI — Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste yesterday called on the Kaua’i community to do some policing of its own, controlling rumors swirling about a federal lawsuit filed recently involving the county and Kaua’i Police Department. Named in the lawsuit filed
WAIPOULI — Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste yesterday called on the Kaua’i community to do some policing of its own, controlling rumors swirling about a federal lawsuit filed recently involving the county and Kaua’i Police Department.
Named in the lawsuit filed by KPD officer Mark Begley are the county, KPD Chief George Freitas, and others, with Begley alleging he was assaulted by a fellow officer who has ties to organized crime on the island.
“Kaua’i, one of its downfalls is its rumor mill,” Baptiste told members and guests of the Kapa’a Rotary Club at the Kaua’i Coconut Beach Resort here.
The rumor mill can destroy lives and families, said Baptiste, adding that allegations contained in the lawsuit are to date unsubstantiated.
His decision last week to call on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney’s office in Honolulu to launch an investigation into the charges, Baptiste said, was a difficult one for him.
“The people involved I’ve known from the time I was a child. Our children have grown up together,” he said.
“This decision was very difficult for me. We did it because it’s the right thing to do, not because it’s the easiest thing to do,” he continued.
“We owe it to the people of Kaua’i to get to the truth,” he said of the investigation’s main goal.
He called on his audience, and the wider island population, to help contain rumors regarding the case, until that truth is uncovered.
As of yesterday, Baptiste hadn’t received a response from the FBI regarding his request, he said. But, he warned, FBI agents don’t normally proclaim vindication of a person or persons, not wishing to close any doors regarding the filing of charges later.
He isn’t even sure FBI officials will agree to look into the case, as they are busy with other matters, he continued.
Even if officials in the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office find no truth to the allegations, the matter will likely still play out in court, “and then we will hope to find some closure to this.”
Already, though, the attention the case has drawn has worked to further diminish KPD morale, he said.
As a result of the allegations of criminal activity within the KPD, “all officers get painted with the same brush, and that’s not fair. I believe that all of them are good, honest people,” he said of the 120 officers of the KPD.
A question about the case brought Baptiste to ask a question himself, that being, “Why do we have a police shortage?
“Because, frankly, we don’t show them enough aloha, respect, for what they do.”
He called on citizens of Kaua’i to “say thanks” to the men and women of KPD when they see them. “Give ’em some thanks.” Respect from people would give officers a greater sense of purpose, Baptiste said.
“They may think you’re crazy and arrest you,” though, Baptiste joked.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
