Police Chief Kealoha’s job status on hold until Friday

Police Chief Louis Kealoha’s job status in the wake of being named the target of an FBI criminal investigation remains up in the air after the Honolulu Police Commission met behind closed doors for two hours Wednesday, then recessed until Friday without making a decision on his fate.

Kealoha placed himself on “restriction of police authority” status beginning Dec. 20 after the FBI sent him a letter informing him that he is the target of a criminal investigation.

Commission Chairman Max Sword said the commission, agreed to formally ratify Kealoha’s decision. “We’re the chief’s boss so we’re the ones who technically have to do that,” Sword told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting.

On Friday, the commission could choose to fire Kealoha, suspend him with or without pay, or do nothing.

Sword declined to discuss what options are being discussed by the seven-member panel.

A federal grand jury is investigating corruption and other wrongdoing at HPD stemming from the theft of a mailbox at Kealoha’s Kahala home. The chief and his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a city deputy prosecutor, are widely believed to be at the center of the investigation.

Deputy Chief Cary Okimoto has been acting chief since Kealoha, who makes $190,408 annually, put himself on leave.

Members decided to recess their meeting until 11:30 a.m. Friday because “we needed more information that will help us in our decision-making,” Sword said. He declined to say what information the commission members are requesting.

“We’re talking about dealing with somebody’s livelihood and career, and we want to make sure that whatever decision we make is the correct decision,” Sword said.

He acknowledged that “there were (differences) of opinions but it was a frank discussion and we all had different ideas on how we approach it.”

The public and all HPD officers were removed from the hearing during the executive session. Giving legal advice to the commission were city Corporation Counsel Donna Leong and Deputy Corporation Counsel Krishna Jayaram, who is assigned to advise the panel.

During the portion of the meeting that was open to the public, state Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point), and Brian Black of the Civil Beat Law Center for the Public Interest criticized commission members for choosing to hold their discussion on Kealoha in executive session. They urged the panel to act in a transparent manner.

There is no law that prevents the commission from discussing Kealoha’s status in a public forum, and state law says a government official’s personnel evaluation is not private if there is a significant public interest in the job, Black said.

“When I look at today’s agenda, until the executive session, which is closed to the public, there is not even any mention of what is the status of our chief … or any information that is of major concern to the general public,” Espero said.

He also questioned the wisdom of the commission regularly holding its meeting in a conference room at HPD headquarters with few chairs for the public. “This is almost like, forgive me for saying, a meeting being conducted by our police department and you’re here to be a part of that.”

Sword said afterward that in balancing the protection of employees’ rights with the public’s right to know, the commission chose in favor of keeping the discussion private.

Besides Kealoha, four other Honolulu police officers received target letters as a result of the same federal investigation involving Kealoha, and have been put on restrictive duty.