Friday, February 24, 2012

Musings: Falling Dominoes

Flashes of lightning came in the night, and just one small rumble of thunder, though it was enough to unnerve poor Koko. But she's not the only one feeling edgy. As I described it to a friend, who agreed, life this week has seemed slightly akimbo.

I imagine that's especially true for Police Chief Darryl Perry, caught in the Kafkaesque scenario of being back on the job, without the badge, gun and uniform that spell cop. Worse, one of his officers refused his direct order to issue him the equipment. How, really, does a chief regain authority and respect from the rank and file when he has been thus humiliated?

Meanwhile, the humiliator, Mayor Bernard Carvalho, has had a rather easier time of it, seeing as how he was in LA partying last night with author Kaui Hart Hemmings, musician Cyril Pahinui and other Hawaii folks involved in the production of “The Descendents.” He's there with Sue Kanoho, director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau, who organized the “media event” to capitalize on the hoopla surrounding that movie.

So who, really, is in power on Kauai? Are we living in a police state, where a centralized figure — in this case, the mayor, or more accurately, County Attorney Al Castillo, who is advising him — controls who gets the guns?

I think the County Charter really intended for the Police Commission to provide some check on the mayor's authority, and at least some Commissioners are aware they've been usurped. As Police Commissioner Charles Iona told the Garden Island :

“He’s there,” Iona said about Perry being back at work. “But certain actions were taken that somebody is calling the shots not to return his badge, his gun and all that, just like they took the power away from the commission.”

Of course, power grabs are nothing new. More interesting is what, if anything, the Police Commission can and will do about it.

The mayor has claimed that he or his designee, Managing Director Gary Heu, must meet with Perry to develop “a shared understanding of the terms under which the Chief could return to work while the complaint is being investigated.”

But is that truly necessary when the Police Commission, which is privy to all the same confidential info as the mayor, and advised by attorneys from the same office, voted unanimously that he could return to work?

And has the mayor, in his zeal to address a hostile work environment complaint, has created precisely such an environment for the chief? Sure seems pretty hostile when your computer has been seized, you're locked out of your office and your subordinates have been directed to be insubordinate.

I'm also wondering whether the family of Dickie Louis, contemplating a lawsuit against the county over the way cops shot him down from a roof, though no weapon was apparently found, will be able to bolster its claim by citing the disarray within the department at the time of the killing.

In the meantime, the Charter Commission plans to take up the issue of the mayor's power over the chief at its meeting on Monday. The Charter obviously is missing some key language, so it's refreshing that Commissioners are stepping up to deal with it, especially since they're now considering measures that should be placed before the voters this fall.

It seems the dominoes are poised to keep falling.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

All the KINGS horses and all the KINGS men came tumbling down!

Anonymous said...

If they fall....

Good ole boy network along with the developers and large land owners will pick a new puppet.

The same ole same ole.....
unless we see some serious public outcry and voting.

Dr Shibai

Anonymous said...

I agree with your writings most of the time Joan, but I have to disagree with your characterization of the Mayor vs. the Police Chief. The Police Chief is under investigation. He should NOT return to the job until he is cleared. Doing so opens the county up to more litigation.

Anonymous said...

It's time for change, we need a county manager who is qualfied to run a county. We don't need another corrupt mayor to spread his looting of the people to his family and friends.
The over assesed property taxation is a crime that the county is getting away with. The new solid waste tax should be already paid for in property tax. KIUC is getting out of control.
Bike path is a luxury not a neccesity like a bypass road.
Marathon should not cost taxpayers 100K a yr for a nonprofit event.
Police chief and asst chiefs that violate workplace rules should not get free passes.
Drug rehab center should be established before a new pay day loan leeching the public opens.
A new waste treatment plant should be built in princeville.
A human resource center for county employees and a reevaluation of positions should be done. Contract all nonessential personnel and this will save kauai taxpayers millions of dollars.
Send our police officers to a accredited police academy and have an outside investigator investigate kpd.
Get a spcecial federal DEA team to find all the drug houses and drug dealers.
This is the year of the dragon so let kauai celebrate by conquering our demons.

Anonymous said...

What about all the unsolved murders? Or superficial wounds that was a cause of death?

Anonymous said...

The police chief is NOT under investigation. Asher and Quibilan are under investigation.

Anonymous said...

Exactly! From what is written, the Chief was part of the problem not trying toto find a solution. You tried to sweep the wrong thing under the rug this time Perry! Auwe shibai all the time in kpd, land and development, prosecutors office, county attorney office, county council, kiuc, monsanto, syngenta, gnr and our mayors office

Anonymous said...

You're wrong! He is part of the problem. There is a complaint on the chief that he tried to cover up the sexual harassment complaint which made it turn into a hostile work place. Chief tried to force darla to drop complaint, he has done this with many others complaints.

Joan Conrow said...

From what I have been able to gather, the Chief is NOT the subject of a hostile workplace complaint.

Anonymous said...

All this talk about calling in the Feds is making me nervous. It's the old colonial line "the locals can not rule themselves" so let's get someone from the "mainland" who can do the job.

Anonymous said...

Kauai County hosted an Oscars party in Hollywood. We paid for it, THIS is how your Mayor is spending YOUR taxes.

Oh, we also get to pay off the ensuing lawsuits, yippie!

Anonymous said...

Joan Conrow said...
"From what I have been able to gather, the Chief is NOT the subject of a hostile workplace complaint."

Then explain this remark Perry made on KHON

"I didn't want to come back to a hostile work environment and be placed in a situation where this person may see me in the hallway and say that I looked that person (sic) in a wrong way and make another complaint."

Anonymous said...

It was already paid for in the 60 million surplus dollars that was budgeted to spend freely for pure fraud, waste, and abuse. Kauai had to furlough its county employees because we didn't have enough money (it was a complete lie) so the pawns pay were sacrificed so the cronies could geteither their pay raises.

Kauai should be contacting the attorney general and the department of justice to file charges against this admin we have enough evidence of the fraud, waste, and abuse that tokioka, heu, carvalho, castillo, and the rest of the dirt bags have committed. Chicago politics on Kauai auwe

Anonymous said...

Perry is like a gemini, he has two faces. One must not be fooled

Anonymous said...

Yeah I heard we paid over 9 million for the wailua bridge that would have only cost Kauai taxpayers 1 to 2 million for a mainland company that has built bridges on Kauai before do. How much the kick backs and to did it went to?

Anonymous said...

When a problem is identified and these mules don't know how to properly solve then we must go to the big dogs to bark orders to these bitches!

Joan Conrow said...

Then explain this remark Perry made on KHON

"I didn't want to come back to a hostile work environment and be placed in a situation where this person may see me in the hallway and say that I looked that person (sic) in a wrong way and make another complaint."


That's classic Andy Parx jump-to-conclusions, see what you want to see thinking. It could just as easily be interpreted as his concern about her making another complaint, period.

Anonymous said...

"Yeah I heard we paid over 9 million for the wailua bridge that would have only cost Kauai taxpayers 1 to 2 million for a mainland company that has built bridges on Kauai before do."

What an idiot. That bridge was financed by state and feds, not Kauai.

Anonymous said...

Agreed.


Sure our taxes pay for it but state highway = state and federal money.

Andy Parx said...

Well Joan, time will tell. Whomever repeated what I wrote Thursday about the Perry quote on KHON seems to agree that it is telling. You and other Perry supporters don't.

When I watch him actually saying it on the tape I have a hard time thinking he meant anything but "another" against him. Plus all my sources tell me that Perry tried to get Abbatiello to drop her October complaint according to her January complaint to the mayor and police commission. That the October complaint was in fact effectively squelched is evidence of this. And the fact that in Jan. she felt compelled to go outside of the "chain of command"- of which Perry is at the top- confirms that he, at best, acted contrary to the county's "hostile workplace" regulations which means he also was guilty of "creating a hostile workplace" according to EEOC guidelines. Otherwise the Oct. complaint would still be active and she would have had no reason to file another in Jan.

You don't believe that. Fair enough. But in my estimation, despite the fact that the "'power-grabbing mayor' and the 'righteous police chief who has restored department morale'" fits the commonly held narrative, it doesn't make sense in this instance. Otherwise you'd have to believe that the mayor just did this for no reason in a purely political move to remove a potential rival in 2014 despite knowing he would be risking all going up against that narrative. And Perry's "story" has changed a half a dozen times. Just yesterday KITV reported he was suspended for "filing a false report." I have no idea what that's all about but it shows how there are an awful lot of things being thrown against the wall.

This town is often plagued by "Confederacy of Dunces" syndrome.

Joan Conrow said...

Andy, I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to portray me as a "Perry supporter," because I'm not anybody's supporter when it comes to KPD and the mayor's office.

Anonymous said...

State contracts are governed by the procurement law, which basically requires that jobs done by private entities go through the bidding process. Before the reforms, the state used to enter into no bid contracts and agree to change orders that would increase the contract amounts by millions. I think that practice has ended. If someone has knowledge of violations of the procurement law, they should report them to the attorney general, Civil Beat, or Joan.

Anonymous said...

Hey Andy, what's your relationship to Tim Bynum and Lani Kawahara?

Joan Conrow said...

Andy, I looked on the KITV website, but was unable to find anything substantiating your allegation against Chief Perry:

Just yesterday KITV reported he was suspended for "filing a false report." I have no idea what that's all about but it shows how there are an awful lot of things being thrown against the wall.

Perhaps you have it confused with the Police Commission sustaining a complaint against an officer accused of falsifying police reports?

Andy Parx said...

It was on the 6 p.m. Ch4 KITV New Sat. evening. As I said, it was particularly strange and at the end of a fairly short piece reporting on the Friday police commission meeting. Somewhere between 6:05 and 6:10. They cited it as the reason for Perry's suspension.

Their web site is notoriously crummy.

Anonymous said...

The commission sustained an unrelated complaint against an officer for falsifying reports. Best guess is KHON saw this ruling and assumed it related to chief and mistakenly reported it as such. Interesting to follow up on what actually happens to an officer who falsifies reports. Should be a fireable offense - or criminal charges filed for false report writing.

Anonymous said...

Typical Andy Parks opinion = fact

Anonymous said...

I nominate Andy Parx for Mayor

Anonymous said...

Many KPD officers have filed false reports and there is proof of this. They will not get punished for their internal affairs officer is a dirt bag cover up bastard.

Anonymous said...

What companies put in bids? how much was the bids? Who got the contract? Follow the paper trail and you shall find out what the real story is.

Anonymous said...

You "May" or "Shall" find out what the story is?
I don't know what may or shall means, I cannot interpret such words that confuses my small kind island coconut head.
I'm taking this to court, do you agree mr chang?
Mr chang: I agree with everything you said and just wanted to add that you said everything I was gonna say. Good job! Shaka brah! walaau!

Anonymous said...

What an Idiot: so you're saying you don't pay state or fed taxes? Or are you saying kauais working class doesn't pay state or fed taxes? Before you call someone an idiot you must look yourself in the mirror. If you believe people are ignorant to believe your statement, then you must be drinking the kool aid.