Posted on: Sunday, November 7, 2004

Kaua'i police commissioner tells mayor he won't quit

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Police commissioner Leon Gonsalves Sr. has refused Mayor Bryan Baptiste's request that he step down as the result of what Gonsalves said was an ill-considered e-mail message about Police Chief K.C. Lum and Deputy Chief Ron Venneman.

Gonsalves said it's a matter of principle. He said his e-mail message, which was intended to be private, has been mischaracterized, and that he has personally apologized to both men and explained that he has no animosity toward them.

"I told K.C., 'I don't hate you. I invited you to my retirement party. You don't do that to someone you hate,' " Gonsalves said.

The e-mail referred to the chief and deputy chief as "Hop Sing" and "Little Joe," characters from the television series "Bonanza." The e-mail further said Gonsalves was pleased not to be attending the swearing-in ceremony for Lum and Venneman, because if he attended, he would throw up.

Mayor Baptiste said yesterday that he will ask the County Council to support his request to remove Gonsalves from the five-member Kaua'i Police Commission. Under the Kaua'i County Charter, members of boards and commissions "shall be appointed and may be removed by the mayor, with the approval of the council."

Gonsalves, a retired police officer and prosecuting attorney's investigator, is Baptiste's only appointee to the commission. He was appointed earlier this year. He is also the only member of the commission who voted against Lum's appointment as police chief.

The flap over Gonsalves' comments took flight when people in the Kaua'i law enforcement community distributed the contents of what Gonsalves said was a personal e-mail from him to someone in the prosecutor's office.

Gonsalves, in an interview yesterday from a Pop Warner football game at muddy Hanapepe Field, said that "Hop Sing" is a nickname he has long used for Lum. Fellow retired police officer Grant Yata said that it was one of many essentially harmless nicknames officers used for each other.

Gonsalves said the throwing up comment was not — as many assumed — a comment about the chief and deputy chief, but an indication of his frustration with his fellow police commissioners. Gonsalves said he felt ostracized by the other four commissioners after voting against Lum. He was particularly irked that the other commissioners did not invite him to help pay for refreshments served after the swearing-in — even though he had planned to be out of the state on that day.

"They assumed I would not contribute. Look, I'm supposed to be part of the commission. I should have been given the chance to say yes or no. I would have contributed. Of course I would have," Gonsalves said.

Lum would not comment about the e-mail, other than to say that his relationship with Gonsalves is "strained." But two members of the police commission, Michael Ching and Stanton Pa, have both said they found the term offensive and inappropriate. Baptiste also said he found the language inappropriate.

Gonsalves insists that the nicknames were intended to be harmless, and he has apologized for any discomfort they caused.

"We had a meeting on Monday. We sat down. We discussed it. I had apologized in black and white, and I apologized again. I took responsibility for it. We shook on it and we talked about it," he said. He termed it a friendly meeting.

Baptiste has spent nearly two weeks considering what to do about the case. He has met jointly and individually with the parties, and with the police commission. He said he has been criticized for not acting more quickly.

"In this situation, we are dealing with people who are part of our community, with families and relationships and reputations. I took the time to thoroughly examine the entire situation, to avoid hasty decision-making," Baptiste said.

The mayor said he fears that the controversy over Gonsalves' comments has damaged public faith in the police commission and police department.

"I believe that by asking for his resignation, we are taking the right course of action for the betterment of the Police Department and, in turn, the community," Baptiste said.

Gonsalves has been active in the community, notably in children's sporting events, through the Police Activities League and as commissioner for Pop Warner football. But Baptiste said that in the role as police commissioner, he must be held to a higher standard of conduct than other citizens.

"Leon Gonsalves is a good man. Over the years he has proven that through his many community service activities," Baptise said.

Gonsalves said he has been getting support from people in the community.

"I've been asked by people not to resign. They tell me, 'Leon, that's not you.' I won't resign. The mayor can take it to the council. If they say I go, then I go," he said.

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