Former Big Island police chief to pay share of settlement

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Two former top Big Island police officials were questioned yesterday about their personal assets in a closed-door session aimed at trying to make them pay their share of a $4.2 million civil judgment in a lawsuit over rigged promotions.

Circuit Judge Riki May Amano ruled last month that 19 former and current Hawai'i County police officers did not have to wait until an appeal was heard by the state Supreme Court before claiming a portion of the award from retired Police Chief Wayne Carvalho and former Deputy Chief Francis De Morales.

Attorneys for the officers have argued that the two former officials are personally liable for the $635,000 punitive award.

A jury in December 1999 ruled in favor of the plaintiffs after a lengthy trial over accusations that Big Island Police Department promotion examinations were rigged in the 1980s and 1990s to favor certain officers.