Effort to get police hearing fails
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Honolulu Police Commission balked yesterday at scheduling a hearing to consider new evidence regarding the panel's decision to provide taxpayer money to defend an officer indicted in the cellblock food scandal case.
Prosecutors had questioned last week whether Maj. Jeffrey Owens lied when he testified before the commission in June while requesting the money, and a judge refused to block a subpoena for transcripts of the closed hearing.
A city civil attorney told commissioners in closed session yesterday that there were "concerns about some of the information we received" before the panel voted last month, commission president Leonard Leong said. That attorney said additional evidence could be presented for a reconsideration of the vote, according to Leong.
But Owens' attorney, Darwin Ching, argued against considering the evidence, and none of the five commissioners present made a motion to schedule a hearing to do so, Leong said. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the evidence the city's attorney described.
An O'ahu grand jury indicted Owens and Assistant Police Chief Rafael Fajardo on felony theft charges last year for allegedly buying fancy meals and snacks for police officers with money meant to purchase simple food for criminal suspects detained at the main police station. Both have pleaded not guilty and a trial is set for next month.
Owens told investigators that he believed spending money on food for officers was proper because it would boost morale, according to police testimony before the grand jury. But prosecutors questioned whether he told the commission a different story that could incriminate him or others.
Ching has said that Owens testified truthfully and clearly deserves public money for his defense because he was on duty and performing work related to that duty when the misuse of food money allegedly occurred. The commission is scheduled to consider later this month whether to award defense money to Fajardo.
Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
