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Honolulu City Council Chairman Ron Menor wants the Police Commission to hold off on approving any agreement with Police Chief Louis Kealoha until Council members can be briefed.
“Our constituents have raised significant concerns about the possibility of the Commission entering into a retirement agreement with Chief Kealoha without knowing all the details,” Menor wrote Thursday afternoon to Commission Chairman Max Sword.
Kealoha, on self-imposed administrative leave since receiving an FBI target letter Dec. 20, has agreed to retire. Sword said after the commission’s Jan. 4 meeting that there is an agreement in principle but that details were still being worked out. He said he expected to make the terms public at the commission’s next meeting, Wednesday.
During a meeting Tuesday with the Council’s Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee, Sword said he could not publicly disclose details of the agreement but said he would be amenable to meeting with Council members behind closed doors in executive session.
Menor, in his letter
Thursday, requested the commission meet with Council members before taking a vote.
“The members of the City Council would like to understand how the Commission is managing the Chief’s retirement after 33 years with the department. Moreover, will the Commission be submitting a proposed agreement for Council review and approval?”
Menor told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday afternoon that he did not expect Council members could convene a meeting before Wednesday’s commission meeting.
“It’s basically too late to call a special meeting,” he said. Menor, an attorney, said he does not know whether the Council has a role in the discussion or any decision. “It’s a legal discussion that needs to be explored further,” he said.
Sword could not be reached for comment.
