U.S. District Court Judge Alan Kay has rejected a third attempt by former Kaua‘i Police Department Chief George Freitas to dismiss a federal lawsuit his former secretary has filed against him. Jacqueline Tokashiki claims the way in which she was
U.S. District Court Judge Alan Kay has rejected a third attempt by former Kaua‘i Police Department Chief George Freitas to dismiss a federal lawsuit his former secretary has filed against him.
Jacqueline Tokashiki claims the way in which she was removed by her former boss violated her constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
Tokashiki, who worked for KPD for 20 years and several chiefs before losing her job after Freitas came back from a suspension, is seeking $250,000 in damages from Freitas, and another $250,000 from Kaua‘i County.
Kay originally denied Freitas’ motion to throw out Tokashiki’s case on Dec. 17, 2003.
Kay subsequently rejected Freitas’ first motion of reconsideration of that order, on the strength that some information Tokashiki had provided about Freitas was of public concern and had bearing on Freitas’ performance as head of KPD.
Freitas filed a second motion for reconsideration earlier this year.
In his July 29 order related to Freitas’ second motion for reconsideration, Kay said contrary to what Freitas has contended, the judge said he was aware of an Aug. 27, 2001 letter written by Tokashiki, and had taken it into account in denying Freitas’ request to throw out the case.
“In any event, the court has considered defendant Freitas’ arguments in his second motion for reconsideration regarding the Aug. 27, 2001 letter memorandum and finds them to be without merit,” Kay wrote.
The letter came in response to a letter Freitas had written, saying Tokashiki was not loyal to him, and had participated in what he described as an improper investigation conducted by the Kaua‘i Police Commission.
Tokashiki has said that she had no choice but to participate in the investigation because she served as the secretary to the commission. Tokashiki also served as the secretary to the deputy police chief.
In response to Freitas’ letter, Tokashiki noted she was loyal to Freitas, and gave her version of what happened when Freitas returned to the old Kaua‘i police station in Lihu‘e against a directive from the Kaua‘i Police Commission.
Freitas was placed on leave with pay in August 2001 while an investigation had gotten under way into complaints filed against him by two former high-ranking officers. The officers claimed Freitas treated them in an unprofessional manner, and that Freitas drove a friend in a police car while not on police business.
As a basis for rejecting Freitas’ second attempt to have the Tokashiki case thrown out, Kay also said that Freitas failed to explain why he didn’t provide other case-related information in a timely manner at a court hearing on Feb. 17. Kay said the information, including a letter from the Kaua‘i Police Commission, came after the hearing date.
Kay also said that he could not find any merit to Freitas’ argument “as to the plaintiff’s (Tokashiki) motivations” in writing the Aug. 27, 2001 letter.
Freitas had argued that Tokashiki could not have reported any potential misconduct because he had already made that information public.
Kay said he “didn’t err in denying” Freitas’ motion on Dec. 17, 2003 to throw out Tokashiki’s case.
Kay dismissed Freitas’ contention that the judge had committed “manifest error” when denying Freitas’ motion for “qualified immunity” related to the First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom of religion.
That “qualified immunity” status is granted to all public officials in the United States, and provides limited immunity from lawsuits such as the one Tokashiki has filed against Freitas, according to John Komeiji, an Honolulu attorney representing the former police chief.
In his order, Kay also denied a request for sanctions against Freitas.
An appeal has been filed by Freitas with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Komeiji said.
Clayton Ikei, an Honolulu attorney representing Tokashiki, said he has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal request. Komeiji said matters related to the federal court case had been heard in Fifth Circuit Court, and that he had filed a motion with Kay saying that the “state court case was fully dismissed” by Fifth Circuit Court Judge George Masuoka.
Freitas, against whom various lawsuits have been filed by some KPD officers, including one lawsuit involving alleged violation of the Hawai‘i Whistleblowers Protection Act by Freitas, retired last year with $200,000 from Kaua‘i County as part of a compensation package.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
