A former chairman of the Honolulu police union says he is being punished for speaking out against his superiors. Police union ex-leader
cries foulDetective Alex Garcia says his
SHOPO work led to a suspensionBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comDetective Alex Garcia, who once called for the resignation of police Chief Lee Donohue, said yesterday he was suspended without pay for 40 days for "violation of departmental policies with regard to two police reports."
As Oahu Chapter chairman for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, Garcia last year spoke publicly on a number of issues at the Honolulu Police Department, including an alleged double standard for the discipline of police officers and an internal police memo regarding traffic ticket quotas. He also called for an audit of the police radio system.
Yesterday, in a two-page letter addressed to the media and members of both the City Council and state Legislature, Garcia claimed that he was warned last fall that he would be disciplined if he did not "change the manner in which I criticized the department and that the warning was coming from upstairs."
"The extreme discipline that I have received from Chief Donohue is retaliation for my actions as a union official," wrote Garcia.
In response, Donohue stated through a spokeswoman that he could not go into details about Garcia's disciplinary matters because the "SHOPO collective-bargaining agreement guarantees confidentiality."
However, Donohue said Garcia's position on certain police issues "had no influence whatsoever upon his recent disciplinary actions" and that this had nothing to do with retaliation.
"Just cause is the guideline we use when determining and dispensing disciplinary action." said Donohue. "This is the standard that was used in Detective Garcia's case."
Garcia said he has filed a formal grievance with SHOPO. Current SHOPO Oahu Chapter Chairman Kimo Smith could not be reached for comment yesterday.