The investigation also concluded that police policies were followed by the officer who initiated the motor vehicle accident report and by Faaumu in reporting the accident through official channels.

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 Faaumu related to the accident. The commission sought the outside investigation to avoid any actual or perceived conflict of interest, according to the investigation report.

Review of the report, discussion with the investigator and possible action by the commission is on the agenda of its meeting at 2 p.m. Wednesday. The meeting can be viewed online at https://bluejeans.com/ 925721272.

The investigation, which was closed May 3, was done by James Yuen, executive officer of the Honolulu Police Commission.

Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu participates in his retirement ceremony on April 30. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Faaumu, who was shopping with his wife at the mall Nov. 7, told the investigator he didn’t see anything behind him when he reversed his white 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 after the motorcycle owner reported the accident and provided mall security video showed the truck registered to Faaumu hitting the motorcycle.

Faaumu checked his truck and saw a small gouge on the plastic portion of his rear bumper. He immediately called Deputy Chief Dean Rickard to advise him about what happened, according to the investigation report.

When the accident was reported at 5:44 p.m. Nov. 7, a rookie police officer volunteered to take the case to gain experience and responded with his field training officer toward the end of the shift. After meeting with the motorcycle owner, who works as a security guard at the mall and seeing the surveillance video of the accident, the officers learned the truck was registered to Faaumu.

The field training officer reported taking over the investigation and calling supervisors who told the officer to initiate a civil motor vehicle accident case. Neither of the responding officers interviewed Faaumu, who was called by a higher-ranking officer.

Faaumu’s truck was one of five subsidized police vehicles. He received a monthly car allowance for using the truck for work purposes and had a percentage of his car insurance reimbursed.

Faaumu “denied directing, guiding, leading, advising or suggesting” to either officer doing the investigation of the accident, according to the report.

Both Faaumu and Rickard said the investigation into the accident followed Maui Police Department policy.

The investigation report said the classification of the accident as civil and minor was proper because it occurred on private property and damages were less than $3,000 for each vehicle. Because Faaumu was off duty and using his subsidized vehicle on his day off, requirements for accidents involving subsidized vehicles didn’t apply, the report said.

Faaumu reported last month that the motorcycle owner hadn’t filed a claim for damages and the case was closed by Faaumu’s insurance company, although it would be reopened if a claim is filed.

The motorcycle owner, Rodel Jose, told Yuen on March 23 that he hadn’t gotten an estimate for damages to the motorcycle because the business he bought it from had been closed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both officers who responded to the accident said they had received copies of the surveillance video that Jose took on his cellphone. Both officers said they had deleted the copies, which were different from surveillance video that was posted on YouTube about a week and a half after the accident.

Before the YouTube posting, Faaumu said he received an anonymous letter saying a copy of the video would be sent to the media and giving him a deadline to retire by the end of last year.

Faaumu, who retired at the end of April after more than 35 years, said his decision was unrelated to the incident.

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