Kaua'i chief denies wrongdoing, blasts accusers
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — An angry Police Chief George Freitas, in his first public statement since being placed on paid leave two weeks ago, yesterday denied any wrongdoing and demanded a public investigation by the state attorney general of the allegations against him.
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Freitas, 57, said he is astounded that he has been taken off duty without having been given a detailed list of the allegations made against him, without having been told who his accusers are and before the opening of an investigation. He complained that Kaua'i Police Department employees have been ordered not to talk to him.
Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas wants the state attorney general's office, not a private firm, to investigate the allegations against him.
"I think this is called shunning. I've been banished. I don't treat my employees like this," he said.
Freitas said he will meet Tuesday with an attorney in Honolulu and he expects to demand an immediate, thorough, public investigation of the charges against him.
The office of Mayor Maryanne Kusaka has indicated the county plans to hire an investigator to study the case, which angers Freitas.
"If we're going to do this, let's do this in the sunshine. Let's give it to the attorney general's office and do it in the open. I don't want any low-bid investigator on this," he said.
The Kaua'i Police Commission at a special meeting Aug. 10, while the chief was off the island, accepted a complaint from two police officers against him. Commissioners voted unanimously to place the chief on leave pending an investigation. Freitas, who was hired in 1995, was not given an opportunity to respond to the complaint.
Commission members are chairwoman Dede Wilhelm, Norman Holt, Stanton Pa, Wallace Punua and Michael Ching. Ching is a new member and was not present at the vote.
Freitas returned to his office after a five-day Mainland trip Aug. 13 and was asked to report to the mayor's office. There, he said, he met with Wilhelm and County Attorney Hartwell Blake and was told that he was being placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
"When I got there, I got a brief letter that basically said, 'You're on the beach,' " he said. The letter included a short, item-by-item list of very vague charges, he said. He was asked to turn in his badge, gun, identification card, police vehicle and other gear.
He said he turned in all but the badge, gun and ID card.
"That would amount to a suspension of my law enforcement powers," he said, and he was specifically told he was not being suspended.
Members of the Police Commission and other county employees are refusing to discuss the case publicly, citing an order from Blake's office. Meanwhile, Freitas said, he cannot get the county attorney's office to return his calls.
While no detailed allegations have been revealed, the mayor's office has confirmed that media reports about the charges are essentially correct. They include the accusation that Freitas interfered in a criminal investigation of charges of sexual assault of a minor by police officer Nelson Gabriel, who goes on trial next month.
Freitas characterized the accusation as "ludicrous." He said he would not threaten his police career by interfering in a criminal investigation.
"What would be my motive to interfere in the case of an alleged child abuser, after 35 years of police work?" he said.
The chief appeared yesterday at a regular meeting of the Kaua'i Police Commission, sitting in the back of the room. Deputy Chief Wilfred Ihu, who is serving as acting chief, sat in Freitas' normal seat. Asked why he attended, Freitas said: "Last I heard, I was still the chief."
The commission did not speak to or about him in their public session, and Freitas filed out of the room with other members of the public when the commission moved into a closed-door executive session. His case was on the agenda for that nonpublic portion of the meeting. There was no word on any action taken in the private session.
Freitas said the commission has a responsibility to investigate charges against any employee, including him, but he questions their authority to place him on leave.
"They have the authority to fire me, but I don't see where they have the power to do this," he said.
The manner in which the case is being handled leaves permanent damage to his credibility as a law enforcement officer, he said.
Freitas also said he worries about the impact of the case and the way it is being handled on the department.
"There is a living thing called the Kaua'i Police Department, and I don't know who's taking care of that thing. I don't know what it's doing to the organization," he said.
