After declaring for months that he would not step down because he’d done nothing wrong, Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha on Friday agreed to retire in the wake of a federal corruption investigation, ending a 33-year career on the police force.
Police Commission Chairman Max Sword, after an hourlong, closed-door commission meeting, told media gathered outside HPD’s Beretania Street headquarters that the seven-member panel had come to “an agreement in principle” with Kealoha on his retirement.
Details of the agreement were not released.
“We are working the details out at this point, and we’ll have the final approval by the commission on the meeting on … Jan. 18,” Sword said. “At this point I would like to thank the chief for his many years of service … and we wish him well on his retirement.”
City Corporation Counsel Donna Leong, the city’s chief civil attorney, stood next to Sword during his 90-second statement. Sword did not answer questions and Leong did not speak.
Among the questions left unanswered was whether Kealoha would be eligible for benefits and would be paid through the end of his term. The commission gave him a second, five-year term in 2014 that was to run through Nov. 27, 2019. Also unknown is the status of at least one lawsuit that Kealoha and his wife, Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha, had filed against the city.
Kealoha, who makes $190,408 annually, had been expected to answer the commission’s questions at Friday’s closed-door meeting, but he did not appear.
| LOUIS KEALOHA AS POLICE CHIEF
Nov. 18
The Honolulu Police Commission takes less than half an hour to unanimously select Capt. Louis Kealoha as chief from a group of six finalists. After a contentious relationship with former Chief Boisse Correa, police union officials applaud Kealoha’s selection.
Feb. 5
The commission votes to give Kealoha a second, five-year term ending Nov. 27, 2019.
Dec. 4
Kealoha causes a mistrial in a federal criminal case against Gerald Puana, the uncle of his wife, Katherine Kealoha, a deputy city prosecutor. Puana was accused of stealing the mailbox in front of the Kealohas’ Kahala home in June 2013. Alex Silvert, Puana’s defense lawyer, accuses Kealoha of purposely triggering the mistrial to avert a not-guilty verdict that would have undercut Katherine Kealoha’s standing in a civil case against Puana.
Dec. 17
Silvert tells the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he has turned over information about the mailbox theft case to the FBI for investigation. This eventually triggers a federal grand jury query about alleged police misconduct, which leads to an investigation centering around the Kealohas and others.
June 17
The Kealohas sue the city Ethics Commission, charging that former commission Executive Director Chuck Totto and his staff conducted “vindictive, unsubstantiated and illegal investigations” against them.
Dec. 16
Retired HPD officer Niall Silva pleads guilty to conspiring with other police officers and Katherine Kealoha to frame Puana for the theft of the mailbox.
Dec. 20
Kealoha places himself on voluntary paid leave after the FBI sends him a “target letter” informing him that he is the focus of a criminal investigation. Four other HPD officers are placed on leave after also receiving letters. Deputy Chief Cary Okimoto is appointed acting chief.
Jan. 6
Police Commission Chairman Max Sword announces Kealoha has agreed to retire, ending a 33-year career. No details are released.
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Kealoha was captain of HPD’s Juvenile Services Division in November 2009 when he was picked by the commission to replace Boisse Correa as chief of the 2,000-officer force.
After contentious relations between Correa and the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, SHOPO leaders applauded Kealoha’s selection. Following his swearing-in at the mayor’s office, a line of police officers that went down three flights of stairs at Honolulu Hale waited to congratulate him.
While top HPD brass and city officials boasted of low crime numbers during Kealoha’s term, the tenure was also marked by a long string of news stories about illegal activity, abuse of power, spousal abuse and other indiscretions by HPD officers from among different ranks.
In late 2014 Kealoha became embroiled in a messy family dispute involving his wife and her uncle Gerard Puana.
First Assistant Federal Public Defender Alex Silvert accused the chief of intentionally causing a mistrial via comments on the witness stand in the case in which Puana was accused of stealing the Kealohas’ mailbox. Silvert turned over to the FBI documents that he told media suggested further wrongdoing by the department.
Those documents apparently led to the federal grand jury investigation into alleged conspiracy and corruption that centers around the Kealohas and several police officers.
Preserving integrity
In June the Kealohas filed a lawsuit against the city Ethics Commission, claiming that former Executive Director Chuck Totto and commission staff unfairly investigated them.
On Dec. 20 Kealoha placed himself on “restriction of police authority” status shortly after the FBI sent him a letter informing him that he was the target of a criminal investigation.
On Wednesday, following a two-hour meeting, the commission affirmed his “on leave” status and made it indefinite. Deputy Chief Cary Okimoto, a 32-year HPD veteran, has been acting chief.
After Sword’s announcement Friday, HPD issued a written statement saying that under Okimoto, “HPD will work to ensure seamless continuity of the essential functions that make Honolulu one of the safest major cities in the country.”
Attorney Myles Breiner, who has represented Kealoha on the criminal allegations against him, referred questions to Kevin Sumida, who is providing the chief with legal counsel on civil matters, including the settlement that is leading to his retirement.
“I’m disappointed that the chief retired, but I understand why,” Breiner said by telephone after Sword’s announcement. “I support his decision; it still preserves the integrity of the Police Department. There’s been no admission or acknowledgement of any wrongdoing whatsoever because there’s been no wrongdoing.”
Sumida could not be reached for comment.
Four other HPD officers also were put on “restriction of police authority,” or ROPA, status as a result of receiving similar letters. Their names have not been disclosed by the department.
Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who was ill and out of the office Friday, issued a statement thanking Kealoha for his years of service and the commission “for taking decisive action on this matter.”
Both Kealoha and the commission did the right thing, the mayor said, adding that “(Friday’s) announcement allows the Honolulu Police Department to move forward.”
City Council Chairman Ron Menor and Council Public Health, Safety and Welfare Chairman Brandon Elefante also said Kealoha made the right move.
“I think that the department can now focus on taking steps in terms of rebuilding,” said Elefante, who last week urged Kealoha to resign. The chief’s decision was the right one, he said, “especially with an investigation … with all that going on.”
Commission leaders were previously scheduled to speak before his committee Tuesday about HPD’s upcoming goals and objectives, Elefante said.
Decision is ‘right’
Menor said Kealoha made the right choice since “Chief Kealoha’s legal problems may have been a distraction and affecting morale in the department.”
On Wednesday, under questioning by commission members, Okimoto acknowledged that morale was low but that he and top brass were doing what they could to raise it. “Everyone is walking on pins and needles and not really sure about what is going to happen,” he said.
Former HPD Chief Lee Donohue theorizes that Kealoha likely was coerced into retiring, given his recent insistence that he was not leaving.
“For him to be adamant about staying on as the chief because he didn’t do anything wrong and to all of the sudden (change his mind) — in my mind he probably had some ultimatum given to him: to retire or we are going to fire you,” Donohue said.
If that was the case, he added, “it was really unfair.” The former chief said the commission may have bowed to political pressure, and he noted that Caldwell last week urged the panel to “take decisive action.”
“He should have stayed out of that; he’s the mayor,” Donohue said.
The commission has historically given Kealoha exemplary annual reviews, and the only negative against him has been an FBI target letter, he said.
The commission could have chosen to put him on leave without pay until the matter was resolved, a common move with officers in similar positions during his tenure, Donohue said.
SHOPO President Tenari Ma’afala, a 32-year police veteran who has known Kealoha since before their time at HPD, said he respects the chief’s decision.
“If you ask me, and this is not indicative of his decision, if I was in his shoes and I knew for certain I didn’t do anything wrong, I would leave on my terms,” Ma’afala said, stressing that he did not know whether Kealoha left voluntarily. “For selfish reasons I hate to see him leave.”
During the public portion of Wednesday’s commission meeting, several people urged commission members to reconsider their decision to hold the Kealoha discussion behind closed doors. But commission members said they wanted to go into executive session with its attorneys to discuss the personnel matter.
