It’s distressing that Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck parodied Asian speech and people with gestures that were cartoonish — not to mention juvenile. It is unsurprising that the Kauai Police Commission found that to be a violation of racial discrimination policies.

This kind of expression is jarring especially now, with stories of anti-Asian tensions and violence reported from the mainland. Whatever the intent was here, Hawaii just can’t head one foot down such a path, or tolerate such ignorance or mockery by a ranking official.