LIHU‘E — The court will offer the last word on who can suspend or discipline the chief of police. The Kaua‘i County Police Commission has filed suit against Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. in his official capacity as mayor of the
LIHU‘E — The court will offer the last word on who can suspend or discipline the chief of police.
The Kaua‘i County Police Commission has filed suit against Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. in his official capacity as mayor of the County of Kaua‘i in 5th Circuit Court to seek a declaratory judgment regarding the County Charter. The suit is asking the court to rule that the police commission has the sole authority to suspend or otherwise discipline the chief of police.
“Now that we are at this point, we will have to leave it up to the courts to decide,” said Police Commission Chair Ernest Kanekoa, Jr. “We will have to refer any questions to the attorneys until the matter is resolved.”
“The mayor still believes that he has the legal authority to discipline and oversee the daily activities of commission-appointed department heads,” said County Director of Communications Beth Tokioka. “However, he has stated in the past that he welcomes judicial review on this matter of authority.”
The civil complaint was filed June 27 by Honolulu attorney Edmund K. Saffery with Corlis J. Chang and Marissa L.L. Owens as additional counsel from the firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel. The firm was selected by the commission in March after the Kaua‘i County Council approved a $10,000 request to retain outside counsel to file the complaint.
Chang said the case is not a complicated one, and they seek to have a 5th Circuit judge decide on who has the authority to discipline the chief of police. The mayor has one view and the police commission has a different view, she said.
“It’s a really simple issue and its one where there are two different viewpoints, and our goal is to get a resolution from the court,” Chang said. “This is straight forward and there are no other agendas here.”
Chang said it’s very early in the case and once the mayor has responded to the summons they will submit their motions and wait to be assigned a judge and a hearing date. Then she said it would be a matter of presenting legal issues based on documentation and legal precedents.
The Kaua‘i County Police Commission is represented by seven commissioners appointed by the mayor and approved by the Kaua‘i County Council. They are plaintiffs in their official capacities, including Kanekoa as chair; James O’Conner, vice chair; and Charles Iona, Bradley Chiba, Randall Francisco, Alfred Nebre Jr. and Donald Okami Sr.
Under the Kaua‘i County Charter, the commission is charged with hiring or firing police chiefs, investigating complaints, reviewing policies and budgets, administration and personnel matters and making recommendations to the mayor.
The charter defines the mayor as the chief executive officer for the county, who is responsible for enforcement of the provisions of the charter, ordinances and applicable laws.
The issue originated around Feb. 2, 2012, when Mayor Carvalho suspended Kaua‘i Chief of Police Darryl D. Perry from work for seven days. Perry said he requested leave with concern about an internal investigation that resulted in placing Assistant Police Chiefs Roy Asher and Ale Quibilan on leave.
The mayor and the police chief offered conflicting details of the matter of when a suspension occurred and an administrative leave began.
The Police Commission ordered Perry back to work on Feb. 22. The mayor intervened by refusing to reinstate Perry and divided the department with some officers acting to prevent Perry from drawing his equipment, which is a requirement for the uniform.
Perry worked in a side office wearing an aloha shirt until he joined Carvalho and Kanekoa at a March 12 press conference where the mayor announced the police chief was back on the job.
The police department was functioning, but the three leaders said the issue of the mayor’s authority might end up in court.
Perry said later that he was deeply concerned about access to his office and computer files while he was on suspension and leave. They were removed from his office to a secure space, but said he was not convinced that sensitive federal government information was accessed or removed.
The suit contends that the mayor has the power to exercise direct supervision over the departments, except as otherwise provided. The commission claims that Charter Article XI, Sections 11.02, 11.03 and 11.04 provides for its oversight of the police department and supervision of the chief of police.
The suit disagrees with the mayor’s position that he has the authority to suspend or otherwise discipline the chief of police, and said this falls outside the scope of his powers in the charter.
