Police commission to take no further action on former chief’s vehicle accident

Members also voted to certify his retirement was in good standing

The Maui Police Commission voted Tuesday to take no further action after reviewing an independent investigation report into a minor motor vehicle accident when then-Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu reversed his truck into a parked motorcycle at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center last year.

The commission also voted to certify that Faaumu's retirement May 1 was in good standing.

Commissioners voted 8-1 on both issues.

Vice Chairwoman Roberta "Bobbie" Patnode said she hadn't changed her opinion from May 19, when the online meeting was recessed so investigator James Yuen, executive officer of the Honolulu Police Commission, would be available to talk to commissioners.

"I think that the report from the investigator does not give us any reason to discipline the chief if he was still an employee," Patnode said during the May 19 session. "I would say we should let him retire in good standing."

In a Feb. 10 letter, the Maui Police Commission sought the services of the Honolulu Police Commission to do the investigation into whether Faaumu should have faced any charges and whether there was any misconduct by him related to the accident Nov. 7.

Faaumu, who was shopping at the mall with his wife, told the investigator he didn't see anything behind him when he reversed his white Ford F-150 truck out of a stall and didn't feel a bump before he drove forward and went home. Faaumu said he learned his truck had hit the 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle later that evening when a police officer called him.

In the report, a summary of the investigation said Maui Police Department policies were followed by both the officer who initiated the motor vehicle accident report and Faaumu who reported the accident through official channels. The summary also says the classification of what happened as a civil motor vehicle accident "was proper" because it occurred on private property and damages were less than $3,000.

Faaumu "used his subsidized vehicle on a Saturday, which was his day off," so other requirements for subsidized vehicles didn't apply, according to the summary.

Commissioner Mark Redeker, who cast the "no" votes on both matters, said Tuesday that "looking at the report James Yuen put together, it was not handled properly."

"There was a lot of shenanigans going on," Redeker said. "I think this stinks, but that's just my opinion."

He said that within an hour of officers' learning that Faaumu was involved, "certain adjustments were made."

He referred to "not properly filing the paperwork, not logging in evidence that should have been logged in."

According to the investigation report, the officer who investigated the accident said he obtained a copy of surveillance video of the accident that was taken with the cellphone of the motorcycle owner, who works as a security guard at the mall. The investigating officer reported that the video was shown to supervisors before being deleted after it was determined that videos aren't attached to motor vehicle accident reports.

A day or two later, the officer reported obtaining a flash drive from mall security video to compare with the video from the security guard. Both videos showed a "jump" before the impact of the truck hitting the motorcycle, the officer said. He reported that the flash drive also was discarded.

Sean Everett, who heads security operations at Queen Ka'ahumanu Center, "explained that the video showing a sudden jump of the white truck just before impact to direct impact to the parked motorcycle is a common occurrence; possibly due to the position and distance of the two electrical boxes that feeds the stationary camera," according to the investigation report.

Everett said the video wasn't saved because a copy had been provided to MPD and the investigation was determined to be civil, not criminal.

About a week and a half after the accident, the security video was posted on YouTube. Faaumu said last year that the posting occurred after he received an anonymous letter saying the video would be sent to the media and giving him a deadline to retire by the end of last year.

Commissioner Janet Kuwahara said the explanation about the glitch in the video answered questions that might have led some people to suspect Faaumu knew his truck had hit the motorcycle.

"The way I look at it is because he was off duty and that is his private vehicle and it happened on private property, it is a civil matter," Kuwahara said. "So I don't really see how it would be swept under the rug. I know he was planning to retire over a year ago. Due to COVID, he was asked to stay on. . . . I think sometimes we're reading too much into these things."

She questioned whether the chief would jeopardize more than 35 years of public service "for a minor fender bender."

Deputy Corporation Counsel Jennifer Oana said that if the commission wanted to bring a charge against Faaumu, it would require "a contested hearing with a person who is no longer chief."

If the charge were sustained at the hearing, the commission would have the options to take action to reprimand, suspend or dismiss, "which you can no longer do because he is no longer here," Oana said.

"There's nothing that the commission can do with regard to disciplinary action to file charges regarding the Ka'ahumanu incident," Oana said. "It's my opinion that you lack authority to take any action with regard to disciplinary actions as contemplated in the charter and under rules."

Redeker said Faaumu failed to notify the commission about the accident.

Commissioner Stacey Moniz said Faaumu "should have let us know that he had a fender bender."

"Then 90 percent of this would not be an issue," she said. "I do get that after 35 years, we should honor that much service to our community by allowing him to retire in good standing. I wish that there wasn't this cloud hanging over 35 years -- and something so manini . . . I do think it's important we hold cops to a higher standard."

Commission Chairman Frank De Rego said that "I don't think it's clear that the police chief was obligated, under these particular circumstances, to notify the commission."

He noted that Faaumu was off duty and the truck, which is registered to him, wasn't being used for police business.

Some officers' names were blacked out in the investigation report provided to commissioners and the public.

Corporation Counsel Moana Lutey said the redactions were done by the office "in compliance with the law."

A majority of commissioners said they wanted to see the unredacted report, which De Rego said would be on the closed executive session agenda of the next meeting on June 16.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.