Kauai police chief LIHUE >> A Kauai Police Commission meeting into charges against police chief George Freitas was to go on as scheduled today, but the commission will not be able to take testimony and can only vote to dismiss charges against the chief.
unable to stop
commission hearing
But the board won't be able to
take testimony and cannot
act to discipline himBy Anthony Sommer
tsommer@starbulletin.comThis comes after Freistas' attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday claiming the Police Commission and the county are violating his constitutional rights. The lawsuit also attempted to block today's commission hearing.
During a meeting in federal court today, attorneys for both sides agreed that the commission would not do anything detrimental to Freitas, one of the chief's attorneys told reporters on Kauai this morning.
U.S. District Court judge Susan Mollway also asked attorneys for Freitas and Kauai county for additional briefs after the county argued the lawsuit was improperly filed in federal court. A hearing on the matter was continued for two weeks.
The lawsuit also asked the court to order the Police Commission to conduct a full evidentiary hearing with witnesses, including the two officers who made the complaints against him in July. The complaints allege he hindered an investigation involving another Kauai police officer and violated the department's Standards of Conduct.
The Police Commission originally planned to conduct a hearing with Freitas as the only witness.
County Attorney Hartwell Blake refused to comment on the lawsuit yesterday.
Freitas has been on paid suspension since Aug. 10 when the Police Commission agreed to investigate a series of complaints made against him by Lt. Alvin Seto and Inspector Melvin Morris. Morris has since retired.
Freitas' attorney, Margery Bronster said Freitas has never been given a list of detailed accusations against him. Nor has he been allowed to review an extensive report made by Honolulu Police Commission investigator John Ko, who was loaned to Kauai County to look into the charges.
In a sworn statement filed yesterday with the federal court, Freitas answered each of the charges against him for the first time, declaring each was untrue. He noted he could not provide more detailed responses because he never has received detailed accusations.
The charge the mayor's office repeatedly refers to as "the serious allegation" claims Freitas "hindered the prosecution" of KPD Officer Nelson Gabriel on charges of sexually molesting a young girl who is a member of his family.
Seto accused Freitas of turning down a request from Soong's office for a re-interview of Gabriel's wife.
"The re-questioning of the suspect's wife did not occur because of any of my decisions or action, but because the private attorney representing the wife of the suspect refused to allow investigators from the Prosecutor's Office access to her," Freitas said in his statement.
Seto also accused Freitas of failing to forward a written memo to KPD investigators from the Prosecutor's Office, making the same request. Freitas said yesterday in his statement that he sent the memo forward to the chief of the Patrol Division, who apparently received it.
Gabriel stood trial on those charges in October. Circuit Judge George Masuoka, who heard the case without a jury, has not yet issued a verdict, apparently not wanting to influence the Police Commission.
Gabriel's attorney, Michael Green, presented evidence that the young girl has a history of making serious but unfounded accusations against people at whom she is angry.
Seto, who was the investigating officer in the case, never took the stand.
Another related part of the hindering-prosecution charge accused Freitas of improperly handling a sexual harassment complaint against Gabriel. The charge was not made by the alleged victim, a police dispatcher, but by Seto. Gabriel since has been charged with misdemeanor sexual harassment.
Freitas said in the statement filed in federal court yesterday that Seto intended to use the sexual harassment charge "as a lever to gain the cooperation" of Gabriel's wife, who staunchly supported Gabriel, in the molestation case involving the young girl.
Freitas said he told Seto to keep the harassment case separate because the Police Department's sexual harassment policy requires the victim's name be kept confidential.
Freitas said he consulted with the County Attorney's Office before instructing Seto to not entangle the two cases.
The dispatcher's attorney has since publicly praised Freitas for maintaining his client's anonymity.
Freitas also responded to the remaining charges:
>> That he violated a department policy requiring all supervisors to be "civil in tone" when issuing orders. The complaint came from Seto, who had been accused by a subordinate of discrimination because of a physical infirmity.
Freitas wrote a memo to Seto's supervisor, Morris, stating he believed Seto had created a "hostile work environment." When Seto called to ask Freitas whether there would be an internal investigation, Freitas allegedly hung up on him.
In yesterday's statement, Freitas did not deny hanging up on Seto. But he added he had not given Seto any "orders," which is what is addressed in the department policy requiring a "civil tone."
>> Seto also complained that Freitas and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Goyne, were seen shopping for a house in Waimea in Freitas' police car, a violation of a department policy prohibiting officers from transporting civilians in their cars on other than police business.
Freitas denied yesterday house hunting in the Waimea area but did not deny Goyne had been a passenger in his police car.
>> Morris accused Freitas of violating a KPD policy requiring officers to treat each other "with respect." He accused Freitas of "ranting and raving" at him during a meeting between the two over the complaints that had been filed against Freitas. Morris claimed he suffered a nervous breakdown and had to take three days off from work.
Freitas denied "ranting and raving" or causing Morris "emotional distress."
>> Morris also accused Freitas of issuing him an unlawful order to keep their meeting confidential. Freitas denied issuing Morris an unlawful order. If he had, Freitas said, Morris had an obligation at the time to tell Freitas he believed his order was illegal.
Kauai County
