Funding of police chief’s severance raises dispute
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Acting Police Chief Cary Okimoto looked on during a news conference after being announced as acting police chief Dec. 20, at HPD’s main precinct. Okimoto does not support paying Chief Louis Kealoha’s severance from the department’s coffers.
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha’s retirement agreement with the Police Commission calls for him to receive $250,000 from the Honolulu Police Department’s salaries and wages budget.
But does the commission have the authority to spend HPD money?
The question is particularly relevant because Acting Police Chief Cary Okimoto is making it clear he does not — and has not — supported paying the severance from the department’s coffers.
While HPD takes no position on the terms of the agreement, “we are, however, opposed to the use of departmental monies to fund any form of severance payment,” Okimoto said in an email statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Tuesday.
“This position was clearly expressed to the chair prior to the Honolulu Police Commission’s meeting to discuss Chief Kealoha’s settlement,” Okimoto said. “The HPD at no time agreed to fund the settlement.”
Neither the Honolulu City Charter nor the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, the two key documents that guide how the City and County of Honolulu functions, specifically give the seven-member commission authority to spend HPD money. Its main responsibilities are to hire and fire the chief, evaluate the chief’s performance, review and recommend changes to HPD’s rules and regulations, review complaints filed against the department and make reports on them to the chief, and review the annual budget prepared by the chief and make recommendations to the mayor. The Police Commission’s budget must be approved by the City Council.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
But Police Commission Chairman Max Sword, in an email response Tuesday, said expending money for a settlement is part of the act of removing the chief, a clear responsibility of the commission.
“The Honolulu Police Commission is given the sole authority, under the revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu, to appoint and terminate the chief of police, and this authority includes the terms of employment and retirement, including severance payment,” Sword said.
The Charter, however, calls for the city Salary Commission to establish the annual salary of the chief, currently at $182,088, as well as that of other city department heads.
The final portion of the Charter’s section on the Police Commission states, “Except for purposes of inquiry or otherwise provided in this Charter, neither the commission nor its members shall interfere in any way with the administrative affairs of the department.”
Sword, in his email to the Star-Advertiser, also said, “As I had discussed with Acting Chief Cary Okimoto before the agreement was signed, the funds for the severance payment will come from the HPD’s salaries account. The commission thanks the HPD for its support of the commission.”
Asked to clarify whether that means he believes HPD needed to OK the payment, Sword said it did not. “I’m just thanking HPD for helping process the $250,000.”
Sword acknowledged that Okimoto had raised some concerns.
The acting chief first made those concerns known to the department’s 2,500 employees in a memorandum Jan. 19, the day after the deal was announced.
“For the record, I am opposed to the use of departmental monies to fund the severance payment,” Okimoto wrote. HPD officials did not participate in the discussions between Kevin Sumida, Kealoha’s attorney, and commission members, he said, and did not learn of the details until just before the Jan. 18 news conference held by commission members after emerging from a four-hour, closed-door meeting.
“As the leaders of this department, we have the responsibility to do what is best for the community and for all of our employees,” Okimoto told HPD employees. “We have an obligation to the public to maintain public safety and police services, and we will not take any action that could be detrimental to either.”
City Corporation Counsel Donna Leong participated in the discussions and executive session meeting, indicating that she, as the city’s chief legal adviser, thinks it’s OK to use HPD money for the settlement. Leong’s office Tuesday referred questions on the matter to Sword.
The agreement, which the commission released to the media, states that Kealoha’s last day will be Feb. 28. He was to continue to be on paid leave from his job through then.
Kealoha is to be paid within 15 days of the signing of the agreement. An HPD spokeswoman said no payment had been made as of Tuesday.
Of the $250,000, $190,000 is considered a severance payment while $60,000 is to pay for fees, costs and expenses.
City Councilman Brandon Elefante, chairman of the Council Public Health, Safety and Welfare Committee, said the circumstances surrounding Kealoha’s departure are unique. As a result, “we have to let the process play out. Then we can determine whether or not further action is needed,” he said.
27 responses to “Funding of police chief’s severance raises dispute”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This guy Sword sounds like a Caldwell clone.
His lover from the same mother
He was appointed by Caldwell so not surprising…..
Sword is just a good old boy who, frankly, is totally inept. His silly grin and giggle while handing out tax money is shocking. This commission needs to be reworked with real people put in charge. Sheehan is a good start.
Learn a big lesson. Start all over, after the bill is paid.
Write a new set of laws & rules, for the next HPD commission & HPD chief.
The more money, that is spent fighting this legal matter, the greater the bill in the end.
Example: The C&C, along with HPD, want to hypothetically spend $3 million dollars, to fight for $500,000. If Chief Kealoha loses his legal battle, he has to pay it all back.
The issue here, is whether or not the commission had the authority to do what they did. I have to believe that they received legal assurances that they were acting within the guidelines, but given recent cases such as legal advise given at the UH with athletic issues, maybe I am dreaming.
From Leong…she bad news!
$190,000 is considered a severance payment. Ok. Ensure all applicable income, other state taxes are subtracted from this amount, give him what is left.
Also ensure this money does not spike his pension to a higher level.
What a loser. Good riddance.
“this authority includes…” no it doesn’t that’s why when hiring it is up to the Salary Commission. Fools – how dumb do they think we are? They cannot arbitrarily spend a departments money…that – should be criminal.
Why is he entitled to a severance? He is chief. He retires. All done. None of the rank and file police get a severance when they retire.
I think the Commission should take it out of its own budget. If the Commissioners have to take the hit, so be it! 🙂
They voted for it, let THEM pay.
Another sad event in the HPD Chief saga. City council you need to make legislation to end the football style contracts for future Chiefs and ending ridiculous buy outs. Also need to make it easier to terminate for cause. Clearly we also need a review process for the commissions’ performance as despite recent commission personnel changes they still appear inept and unaccountable to the public.
I agree with dtpro. This was more like a plea deal by the City and not Kealoha to end the suffering. He receives the severance to resign rather than drag this lengthy case into the news everyday. There is an open ended clause that says he forfeits the money if he is found guilty and everyone should also realize this. Kealoha has yet to convicted of any of the accusations and still feels he will win this case but resigned under advisement and this deal.
They better hurry & get it straight before the next Chief is named.
If Kealoha actually cared about the department like a good chief should, he would relinquish that “extra” severance package. But no, he only cares about himself and not Hawaii…
So Krookwell’s boy Sword just ran roughshod over every process and protocol in determining who would pay and how.
Thank Okimoto for calling this out and exposing the inbred, pay-for-play, good old boy incestuous (D) one party system. Yet again.
But the “people” here will never wake up.
Loretta Sheehan, Esq. may have the most insightful argument as to why Chief Kealoha is not entitled to any severance pay. Hope to hear from her soon. She was the only dissenter voting against such.
IMO the police commission has the authority to hire and fire the police chief and that’s it. I don’t think they have the authority to give a settlement payout (of any amount) with termination using taxpayers’ money especially without approval from the city council. Does this mean any commission or department can give out any amount of severance pay as they see fit with termination on their own? Maybe this needs to be put on the ballot for the next election. Maybe a class action suit should be filed against the police commission for unauthorized use of public funds.
Hey! I always wondered what happened to Skeletor.
The people who control the budget for HPD which is the City Council are the ones who have to authorize the payment just as they have to sign off on settlement of civil awards where the City
has been sued or been ordered by the court to pay civil judgements.
The Police Commission clearly does not have the authority to spend budgeted money for HPD. They may have the authority to come with an agreement/settlement but it has to come
before the City Council for approval. Whether the money then comes from HPD or some other source is also up to the City Council to determine.
Sword and the others on the Police Commission except for Loretta Sheehan are incompetent and or stooges for Capt Kirk.
You are right. Had to go before council when city settled civil suits against some of my officers. Corp. counsel was present. Trying sitting in front of Donna Kim…..better have the answers to include what corrective actions are in place.
In these times of protesting…HPD should consider staging a major protest against Kealoha and the Police Commission. Let Chief Kealoha see how the rank and file really feel about him and about financing this so-called severance package with their departmental funds.
They may not like him but they don’t like the politicans and the Feds more. Will Espero and FBI come to mind currently. Who puts a street cop in jail and who bashes him on the way.
Chief Okimoto sounds like the right person for this job, looking out for the public.
Most of the $60K fees goes to the lawyers?
Chief Okimoto is an honorable man who stands up for good government. I believe he has the qualities of leadership required to run HPD. Don’t go outside looking for somebody from NYC or LA or whatever. We have the right kind of leadership right here! The Commission has made noises that they are trying to save money by doing this and heading off a lawsuit by the ex-chief, but in so doing they are trying to take money from HPD’s budgeted funds. If the Commission had courage and truly believe that they were in the right, they should have gone to the mayor and the city council and asked for the money. Instead they are trying to cockaroach it from HPD. Past mayors have pulled this same shenanigan and took money from BWS which was set aside for maintenance and look where that has got us. I believe that Chief Okimoto can run the department. Please give him a chance to do so. And Mr. Mayor, many of us supported you, but to allow the Commission to rob HPD is a big mistake. Go to the Council and get the money if this is what has to be done. But frankly, I prefer that the ex-chief is pensioned off and we let the chips fall where they may. And, if he is indicted and convicted, I don’t see why we owe him anything. Right now, the best thing, Mr. Mayor, that you can do, is to pension off Ms. Kealoha. We in the community have totally no confidence in her or in the Office of the Prosecutor. Look at that total failure in the gaming machine fiasco. We all know that stuff is gambling and it is a blight in the community, but the prosecutor totally dropped the ball, and it was Ms. Kealoha’s case.