The disciplinary action approved by Chief Lee Donohue was taken in part because the Honolulu Police Department found the planning phase of the operation inadequate, according to police sources who asked not to be identified because the decision has not officially been made public.

Kato, a lieutenant for the past 10 years and the head of the homicide division who handles the high-profile role as police spokesman for homicide cases and other investigations, will be demoted one rank to sergeant.

Det. Bruce Swann, second in command at the arrest scene, will be demoted for six months to patrolman. Detectives Kenneth Higa and Shannon Kawakami and Officer Calvin Sung will receive one-day suspensions.

In demoting the two officers, the department said Kato and Swann did not plan the arrest properly, the sources said.

Kato and Swann will also be transferred out of the HPD’s Criminal Investigation Division. Kato has 24 years in the department; Swann has 30.

The five officers have filed a grievance over the disciplinary action.

The Honolulu Police Department’s Administrative Review Board, made up of deputy and assistant chiefs, ruled that Kato and four other members of the Career Criminal Unit violated department procedure by not wearing bullet-proof vests during the operation.

Chief Lee Donohue, who is out of town, approved the disciplinary action, which takes effect Sunday, and the five officers were officially notified Monday.

Alex Garcia, the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers O'ahu chapter chairman, confirmed that the union had received a copy of the disciplinary order on Monday and that the officers had filed a grievance.

Kato had no comment today. He will be reassigned to the Central Receiving Division.

Swann plans to retire.

Garcia called the action "excessive and unfair." As part of the grievance process, the union has requested a copy of the Internal Affairs investigation report.

Garcia said the department’s policy on wearing bullet-proof vests had a "large area for interpretation."

"The guy responsible (for Gaspar’s death) is Shane Mark," Garcia said. "It ended tragically, but I don’t feel (the officers) were at fault. Kato has an exemplary record and is a terrific supervisor. They should have taken his record into consideration.

"We’ve never handled a (grievance) case like this before," Garcia added. "This is extreme."

The grievance process involves four levels. The first is going through the officers’ commanding officer, Maj. Mark Nakagawa. The second is to appeal to Assistant Chief Henry Lau, who oversees the Criminal Investigation Division, or one of the two deputy chiefs — Glen Kajiyama or Paul Putzulu. The third step is to take the grievance to the Civil Service Commission. The final step is arbitration.

Putzulu declined comment today. "We cannot comment on disciplinary action because of the collective bargaining agreement and privacy laws," Putzulu said.

Police sources said an acting homicide lieutenant would be named to replace Kato. Among those being considered are David Kamai, a lieutenant in charge of family violence investigations, and Lt. Danny Lopez, who supervises sex crime investigations, the sources said. The Career Criminal Unit, meanwhile, is expected to be disbanded.

Greig Gaspar, brother of the slain officer and spokesman for the family, said yesterday he did not blame the two officers who were demoted.

Kato headed a group of six plainclothes officers who went to Kapolei on March 4 to arrest Shane Mark on warrants stemming from a shooting a month earlier in Moanalua.

As Glen Gaspar and fellow officer Calvin Sung approached Mark in the Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop at the shopping center, Mark pulled a .22-caliber revolver out of his waistband or pocket and shot Gaspar twice in the chest before other officers managed to disarm him. Gaspar was not wearing a bulletproof vest.

Mark was found guilty by a Circuit Court jury last month of second-degree murder for shooting Gaspar. He faces a mandatory life term with parole when he is sentenced Feb. 24.

The police Internal Affairs investigation was completed months ago. Its findings were submitted to HPD’s Administrative Review Board, which is made up of assistant chiefs, reviews disciplinary matters and makes recommendations to the chief.

The review board recommended to Donohue in November that Kato and Swann be administratively demoted and transferred. Kato and Swann unofficially learned of the recommendations almost immediately and protested personally to the chief.

Donohue took no action and further delayed a decision because of the Pali Municipal Golf Course double-murder shooting Jan. 7. Kato and Swann were heavily involved in investigating that case, and Donohue delayed a decision on the disciplinary recommendations until after suspects in the Pali case were identified and arrested.