Kauai Police Chief Darryl Perry regained his badge and access to his office Monday after agreement was reached between the Mayor’s Office and the Police Commission.
The reinstatement was announced Monday at a news conference by Perry, Kauai Police Commission Chairman Ernest Kanekoa Jr. and Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., but the question of who has authority over the police chief remained unresolved.
"Discussions among our administration, our legal team, the leadership of the Police Commission and the chief himself have helped us to arrive at this decision, where we are confident that the chief can provide the leadership for this organization while the investigation into an employee complaint is conducted with integrity to its conclusion," Carvalho said in a news release.
"While I still firmly believe that I have the authority to take the actions that resulted in the chief being placed on leave, I also believe that through discussion with the commission we have reached a place of consensus on how the department should be managed beginning today," he said.
Carvalho placed Perry on leave Feb. 8 following an employee complaint of an alleged hostile work environment. Perry returned to work Feb. 22 under the authority of the Police Commission. But he was denied his badge, equipment and access to his office under the direction of the Mayor’s Office.
Several meetings were held between Carvalho and Kanekoa since then, leading to the return of Perry’s badge. "The mayor, to his credit, felt this was the right thing to do," Perry told the Star-Advertiser.
Regarding whether the mayor had the authority to place him on leave, Perry said he believes Carvalho was being advised by County Attorney Al Castillo and Managing Director Gary Heu. "He is following their lead. The quicker we resolve this, the better off we’ll be," Perry said.
According to Perry, the Police Commission might pursue a formal ruling on the powers of the mayor versus the powers of the commission. "That still has to move forward," he said.
Kanekoa could not be reached for comment, but said in a news release, "I’m glad that we’ve reached an agreement that has facilitated the chief coming back to work."
Jesse Guirao, chairman of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers’ Kauai Chapter, said, "This is the first step toward an amicable resolution."
"I hope everything in time will come to light," he said.
Perry said he hopes a court judgment is made. "I certainly don’t want the next chief, Police Commission and mayor to have to revisit this situation. It’s not fair to anybody, and it’s not fair to the community."
According to Perry, the situation has been difficult for the Police Department, and he said the community has been left in the dark.
"Only snippets of information have been released. Some of the information has not been correct. What has been left in the community is a sense of, ‘What’s going on? What’s going on with our chief of police?’" said Perry. "That’s exactly what I didn’t want to happen."
Ron Becker, director of the criminal justice program at Chaminade University, said the issue divides the community into two factions: those who support the actions of the mayor and those who support the actions of the Police Commission. "That works to the detriment of law enforcement," he said.
Until they sort out where the authority lies, these types of disputes between the mayor, police chief and Police Commission will continue, he added.
