Kaua‘i Police Commissioner Leon Gonsalves Sr., criticized by some for having made ethnic and disparaging remarks against Kaua‘i Police Department Chief K.C. Lum and Deputy Police Chief Ron Venneman, is remaining on the county commission. At its meeting at the
Kaua‘i Police Commissioner Leon Gonsalves Sr., criticized by some for having made ethnic and disparaging remarks against Kaua‘i Police Department Chief K.C. Lum and Deputy Police Chief Ron Venneman, is remaining on the county commission.
At its meeting at the historic County Building Thursday, the Kaua‘i County Council received for the record a request from Mayor Bryan Baptiste to approve a resolution to repeal an earlier resolution that confirmed Leon Gonsalves’ appointment to the police commission.
The action killed the request by Baptiste, who said the decision amounted to a difference of an opinion.
“I recognize the decision on Leon Gonsalves was a difficult one. The council took their work very seriously, though ultimately they differed with my opinion on the effect of Leon’s actions on community perception,” Baptiste said. “I believe Leon is a good man and will still be a good commissioner, although I question whether or not the public’s perception will be tarnished in their view of commission decision-making.”
Contacted Friday, Gonsalves said he feels vindicated by the council’s action and that “it is a vote of confidence.”
Chief Lum, meanwhile, said Gonsalves apologized to him during the council meeting, but stressed that the apology “does not mean that whatever he did was correct.”
Lum said the remarks by Gonsalves created a “hostile working environment,” but emphasized he would endure because he has a job to do, to lead the Kaua‘i Police Department.
Tensions flared between Lum and Gonsalves as a result of an e-mail Leon Gonsalves sent in October 2004.
In the e-mail, Gonsalves compared Lum to Hop Sing, one of the Chinese characters in “Bonanza,” a popular western television series aired in the 1960s. Lum is Chinese.
In the same e-mail, Leon Gonsalves called Venneman “Little Joe,” in reference to one of the sons of the man who ran the “Bonanza,” ranch in the television show.
Venneman has said he couldn’t find any offense to being called that, but he felt the comments made against Lum were derogatory.
The e-mail written by Gonsalves was dated Oct. 14, the day before Lum and Venneman were sworn in as the new police chief and deputy police chief, respectively.
Gonsalves was the only police commissioner who voted against Lum’s five-year appointment as Kaua‘i’s next police chief, replacing interim police chief William Ehu.
Gonsalves said he has called Lum “Hop Sing” since the two began working as KPD detectives in the 1980s.
Gonsalves served for 19 years with the KPD and retired with the rank of sergeant and detective. He also worked as a special investigator for the Kaua‘i County Prosecutor’s Office for 14 years before retiring last year.
He said while he was a police officer, he was routinely called “Angus,” in reference to a black bull. But Gonsalves, who has thick hair and is sometimes bullish in his actions, said he didn’t find that nickname offensive.
In comments made before the start of the Kaua‘i Police Commission meeting at the historic County Building Friday, Lum said he didn’t know what Gonsalves’ intentions were in making remarks he found to be offensive.
“I don’t know what his intentions were. All I know it was written,” Lum said.
In spite of what he said was a racial slur made against him, Lum said, “I can work with him.”
“But does that mean I can work with him in this hostile working environment he has created?” Lum asked. “I can work with anybody. It (maintaining working relationship with Gonsalves) doesn’t mean that everything he did was correct.”
Lum said he has filed a complaint with the Civil Rights Commission office in Honolulu, and that, while he has been asked to do so, he will not withdraw his complaint.
“It (the claim) is out of my hands. It is up to the Civil Rights Commission,” Lum said.
Gonsalves said he can still do the job in spite of what the mayor thinks.
In a November 22 letter sent to council Chairman Kaipo Asing and the rest of the council, Baptiste asked the council to remove Gonsalves from his post.
The mayor said his decision had little to do with Gonsalves’ remarks.
Eight people at the council meeting spoke out in favor of Leon Gonsalves keeping his job, according to county officials.
County officials said one council member noted 90 percent of the written testimony sent to the council favored Gonsalves. Among such testimony was a statement from Grant Yata, a retired KPD sergeant.
Yata said Lum and Gonsalves worked in an atmosphere where police officers were given nicknames like “Apache or Indian, Pake, Rookie, Skip and so on,” and none of the nicknames was meant to be derogatory.
But in testimony sent to councilman Mel Rapozo, a retired KPD sergeant and detective, Kathleen To said racial slurs are “intolerable in our country.”
“When commissioner Leon Gonsalves used racial slurs toward your police chief Lum, the image of your community, including the office of the Kaua‘i County Council, was negatively affected,” To wrote.
Related to the ethnic remarks he made, Gonsalves said he sent the comments in an e-mail to a friend, and said that the comments were not intended to be made public. Gonsalves said an email containing his comments was sent to The Garden Island, Baptiste, the Kaua‘i Police Commission and Chief Lum by somebody trying to “stir things up.”
Gonsalves said the comments were not meant to be derogatory, were not intended to hurt anyone, and that he apologized if they had caused harm.
- Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@pulitzer.net.
