Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho acknowledged Thursday that he placed the Garden Island’s police chief and two assistant chiefs on leave this week in response to an unspecified "employee-generated complaint" to his office and the Kauai Police Commission.
"The county will not reveal any information about the content of the complaint, nor will we confirm or deny any information presented by others about the matter while the investigation is ongoing," Carvalho said, reading from a statement.
"This is not the first time an employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation, and it should not be construed to be disciplinary in nature," he said. "Reputations are at stake, and we must refrain from making premature judgments."
Following his statement, which was streamed live by HawaiiStream Media Network, Carvalho declined to answer questions and directed reporters to submit questions to his communications team. When asked whether questions to his communications team would be answered on Thursday, Carvalho said, "Welcome to Kauai."
He also declined to respond to a question about whether Kauai Police Chief Darryl Perry and Assistant Chiefs Roy Asher and Ale Quibilan were on paid or unpaid leave.
The assistant chiefs were placed on leave Tuesday, followed by Perry on Wednesday.
All three were ordered to turn in their equipment.
In his statement, the mayor cited the County Charter in defending his authority to place the chief on leave.
"The bottom line is, I am the chief executive of this beautiful island of Kauai, the County of Kauai, and I am ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations for all administrative county departments and divisions," he said.
But Carvalho said he has been in contact with the chairman and vice chairman of the county police commission, "and they have been fully informed of all the steps that have been taken to insure the integrity of the disposition of the complaint."
"It is standard procedure to keep all information relative to the complaint confidential while the investigation is in process," Carvalho said. "This is essential to safeguard the fairness of the process and the rights and privacy of all involved."
While the chief and assistant chiefs are on leave, the Police Department is being run by Acting Chief Michael Contrades and Acting Deputy Chief Mark Begley.
The county Corporation Counsel’s Office advised all county personnel not to comment. Kauai police officers contacted by the Star-Advertiser on Thursday said they were under orders not to speak.
Former Kauai Police Commissioner Tom Iannucci, who retired in December after serving his maximum two three-year terms, said, "Being put on administrative leave doesn’t mean any wrongdoing. This isn’t an indictment against the department or any of these three guys."
Iannucci called the leaves of absences "disappointing because the department has been doing an outstanding job," adding, "The chief has been doing an outstanding job — and these two particular ACs as well."
Perry, a former major with the Honolulu Police Department, was born and raised on Kauai and served as a Kauai police officer before moving to Honolulu. He was the runner-up candidate for Kauai police chief when K.C. Lum was selected in 2004.
Lum faced allegations of ethics violations and had filed a civil rights complaint against a police commissioner over a racial slur before retiring in 2006.
His predecessor, Chief George Freitas, had been investigated by the Police Commission for hindering prosecution in a case involving a fellow officer. He was cleared of the charges but eventually was sued by his secretary for wrongful termination.
Freitas’ predecessor, Calvin Fujita, resigned in February 1995 after he was the subject of a lawsuit that accused him of favoring certain ethnic groups at the expense of others — a case that was dismissed in 2000.
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