Kaua'i police chief retiring

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas will retire at the end of the month under a negotiated agreement that includes a $200,000 severance payment, which county public information officer Cyndi Ozaki called "compensation for his retirement."

"No one's ever told me why they wanted me gone," Kaua'i Police Chief George Freitas said. Jan TenBruggencate • The Honolulu Advertiser

Neither he nor the county officials who arranged his departure would discuss the reasons for the settlement. Freitas said county officials came to him four or five months ago with an offer involving his retirement.

"They brought this to me," Freitas said. "No one's ever told me why they wanted me gone."

Freitas said he ultimately accepted the settlement because of recent changes in his life.

"I've just turned 60, and I've been doing this task going on 37 years," he said, adding that he's recently married and has been dealing with health problems.

County Council members contacted regarding the settlement said they were aware of it, but could not comment further. They would not confirm nor deny that the council voted to approve the financial settlement in a recent closed-door meeting.

While the Kaua'i Police Commission had a role in the arrangements, Mayor Bryan Baptiste was also involved, as was County Attorney Lani Nakazawa and the commission's private attorney, David Proudfoot. None would comment yesterday on the settlement, which was announced in a five-paragraph press release. Several of those involved, including Freitas, said they were precluded by the terms of the agreement from discussing details.

Statement of thanks

The press release included a statement of thanks by Baptiste to Freitas for his "dedicated service" to the county and people of the island, along with a statement of thanks from Freitas to his officers and "those past and current members of the Kaua'i Police Commission and the Kaua'i County Council who supported both me and the department."

Freitas had no contract with the county that called for a severance package. It was negotiated on his behalf by Margery Bronster, a private attorney and former state attorney general who represented Freitas during the 2001 investigation.

Freitas, who was raised in Honolulu, started his law enforcement career in December 1966 with the Richmond, Calif., police department. He rose to the position of captain and acting assistant chief by 1995, when he learned from his father of an opening in the chief's office on Kaua'i.

"I had been visiting Kaua'i for about 10 years and thought it might be a nice place to retire," he said. "To be truthful, if I was invited to interview for the job, I thought I might be able combine it with a vacation, and write some of the trip off on my taxes."

He was offered and took the job later that year. He recalls that someone warned him to take his time and learn the politics of the department before making any promotions or job transfers. He said he didn't wait and may have made some enemies immediately.

"I can't look into everybody's head," he said. "I would hope I have the respect of many of them. I have many personal friends among the members of this department."

Target of legal complaints

The low point of his Kaua'i career came when the Police Commission accepted complaints against him from two now-retired officers, then-chief of detectives Melvin Morris and Lt. Alvin Seto. While the chief was away on the Mainland, the commission suspended him pending an investigation.

After an extensive study of the charges by a Honolulu police investigator, all charges were dismissed with the exception of two: letting a civilian passenger ride in a county vehicle while not on county business (that passenger is now Freitas' wife) and yelling at a subordinate.

Freitas complained that even those charges deserved a response, and that the commission never gave him a chance to respond. He received full pay while on administrative leave and resumed his duties as chief in January 2002.

More recently, Freitas has been named in several legal actions. He was sued by his former personal secretary, who he had transferred to another position; by an officer claiming another officer was involved in organized crime; by a man who accused the department of having identified him as a prime suspect in a series of sexual attacks.

Freitas said legal complaints are not uncommon for police chiefs.

"I think if you check with Honolulu, the chief there gets sued on a regular basis," Freitas said. "The last place I worked at, there were lawsuits all the time. We are in many ways in a high-risk business."

The Rev. Jan Rudinoff, an Episcopal priest and a volunteer police department chaplain, said Freitas walked into the Kaua'i job when the department was in the middle of a sex scandal — involving police officers fondling an exotic dancer while she was in their custody — and has not had an easy time since.

"Like any person in a position of authority, he has made some mistakes, but I think policing was his calling, and he has done it well," Rudinoff said.

Positive experiences, too

Rudinoff said Freitas has been particularly concerned for the well-being of his officers.

"As one of his chaplains, he readily called on me when one of his officers was having difficulty," Rudinoff said. "To me, he was in touch with a deeper side of his officers."

He also said Freitas was open and willing to represent the department in the community.

Mamo Cummings, executive director of of the Kaua'i Chamber of Commerce, said her experiences with the chief had been positive. The chamber runs Crimestoppers, a program that invites the public to call in tips on crime and offers rewards, and the Visitor Aloha Society of Kaua'i (VASK), which aids visitors who are victims of crimes.

"We have met several times with the police chief," Cummings said. "He's been quite supportive and understanding of our concerns."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.