Suit names former Big Island police chief
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
A former police officer filed a federal lawsuit yesterday alleging that former Big Island Police Chief Wayne Carvalho improperly retaliated against him for publicly criticizing Cravalho in 2000 about the chief's involvement in how police officers were selected for advancement.
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In a lawsuit filed on his behalf yesterday by attorney Edward Kemper and the American Civil Liberties Union, John F. Brunton said he began to criticize Carvalho in mid-2000 at Hawai'i County Police Commission hearings and in letters to the editors of newspapers on the Big Island and O'ahu.
A lawsuit filed against former Big Island Police Chief Wayne Carvalho alleges improper retaliation.
On Aug. 14, 2000, according to the lawsuit, Brunton saw a man in a white van watching his house from across the street and taking photographs of him. After Brunton complained to the commission about the surveillance, Carvalho publicly admitted that surveillance was requested because Brunton had threatened to file a lawsuit, according to yesterday's lawsuit.
Brunton claims the surveillance was intended to make him stop speaking out publicly and therefore violated his First Amendment right to free speech.
The lawsuit also claims Carvalho defamed Brunton on Sept. 16, 2000, by telling news reporters Brunton was put under surveillance because of illegal actions.
Carvalho could not be reached to comment yesterday.
The lawsuit against Carvalho and Hawai'i County seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Brunton, 55, of Kona, is a former officer with the King County Sheriff's Department in Seattle.
"As a former police officer, I was appalled by the Police Department's tactics," he said. "I have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else to criticize the police and other government officials without risking their surveillance and harassment."
Brunton said he launched his own investigation and discovered the surveillance van belonged to the Police Department's Kona Criminal Intelligence Unit, a small group that he said answered directly to Carvalho.
Carvalho was implicated along with Hawai'i County and other police and county officials in a scheme to fix promotions between 1984 and 1994. In 1999, a jury decided in favor of the 19 officers who sued the county, Carvalho and retired deputy chief Francis De Morales. They were ordered to pay nearly $4.2 million to the plaintiffs for engaging in fraud and infringing on their constitutional rights.
Carvalho retired from the force in 2000.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
