Penalized officers submit grievance
By Peter Boylan and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
Homicide head Lt. Bill Kato and four other Honolulu police officers have filed a grievance opposing disciplinary action against them relating to whether they violated the department's bulletproof vest policy during an arrest that led to the shooting death of officer Glen Gaspar in Kapolei.
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Gaspar died March 4 after being shot by fugitive Shane Mark at an ice cream parlor at the Kapolei Shopping Center during an undercover operation by the Career Criminal Unit.
The disciplinary action calls for Lt. Bill Kato to be demoted to the rank of sergeant for at least six months.
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 — detectives Bruce Swann, Kenneth Higa and Shannon Kawakami, and officer Calvin Sung — violated department procedures, including not wearing bulletproof vests during the operation, according to police sources who did not want to be named because the ruling is confidential.
Police Chief Lee Donohue, who is in New York, approved the disciplinary action, which takes effect Sunday. The five officers were officially notified on Monday.
Tenari Maafala, president of the State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers, said yesterday that the union's attorneys and investigators are building a case to negate the disciplinary action taken by the department. He said the union is working to counter the Administrative Review Board's interpretation of the vest policy.
"The whole entire situation is tragic, but we can't overlook the fact that we lost Glen Gaspar and that's why the department handed down the discipline they did," Maafala said.
Alex Garcia, chairman of the O'ahu chapter of SHOPO, confirmed that the union received a copy of the disciplinary order on Monday and that the officers have filed a grievance.
The disciplinary action calls for Kato to be demoted to the rank of sergeant for at least six months and transferred out of the Criminal Investigation Division. It also called for Swann, Kato's top aide on the Career Criminal Unit, to be demoted from detective or sergeant rank to corporal. Higa, Kawakami and Sung received one-day suspensions.
Kato 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 used by the HPD review board.
Garcia said the department's policy on wearing bulletproof vests has 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.This is extreme."
Mark was convicted of second-degree murder last month. When he is sentenced on Feb. 24, he faces a mandatory life term with parole.
The grievance process has four phases. The first is to go through the officers' commanding officer, Maj. Mark Nakagawa. The second would be to appeal to Assistant Chief Henry Lau, who oversees the Criminal Investigation Division, or to one of the two deputy chiefs — Glen Kajiyama or Paul Putzulu. The third step would be to take the grievance to the Civil Service Commission. The final step would be arbitration.
Putzulu declined comment. "We cannot comment on disciplinary action because of the collective bargaining agreement and privacy laws," he said.
Police sources, who did not want to be identified because a decision has not been made, said an acting homicide lieutenant will be named to replace Kato. Among those being considered are Lt. David Kamai, who is in charge of investigating family violence, and Lt. Danny Lopez, who supervises investigations of sex crimes.
The Career Criminal Unit, meanwhile, is expected to be disbanded.
The mood at HPD's Alapa'i Street headquarters was conflicted yesterday. Many officers, some of them high-ranking, privately said disciplining a popular and respected supervisor like Kato for the death of a well-known officer like Gaspar has led to an emotional quandary.
One Kato supporter, Susan Siu, lead investigator for the Honolulu medical examiner, who has worked with Kato on numerous homicide cases, said the lieutenant rose from the ranks. "He stands up for his people," she said. "How can it be his fault? He would have given his own life if he knew this would happen. I know this. He is like my brother. He cares for his people."
Advertiser Staff Writer Mike Gordon contributed to this report. Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com. Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
