Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier talks to the news media after the Police Commission declined to take action against him on Wednesday. Pelletier reiterated the allegations in a civil lawsuit filed in California are baseless. The Maui News/Gary Kubota

On Wednesday, the Maui County Police Commission turned down a mayoral recommendation for Maui Police Chief John Pelletier to be put on leave after the chief was named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit involving the embattled rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The commissioners’ decision came after they had heard testimony from residents and examined various documents directly contradicting the lawsuit that alleges Pelletier was a co-conspirator in a gang rape led by Diddy at an apartment in California.

Interviewed after the decision, Pelletier reiterated that the accusations in the lawsuit against him are entirely without merit and mentioned the pain this has caused his family.

“I have nothing to do with any of this,” he said. “I don’t know these individuals. I never met them. The vote today is resounding. I’d like to point out that I have two small children. Nobody’s apologized to them.”

The lawsuit was filed by attorneys representing Ashley Parham and two unnamed plaintiffs. The suit was amended March 7 and names Diddy as a defendant alongside NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., comedian Drew Desbordes, better known as “Druski,” and Pelletier, among others.

However, commissioners said that from what they’ve been able to gather, there is no proof.

“There’s no evidence of it,” said Commissioner Frank R. De Rego Jr., who added that Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen is a man of integrity but his recommendation was a “major miscalculation on his part.”

Commissioner Arragon N. Kekoa Mowat said he didn’t think the commission had to deliberate, especially since a picture included in the lawsuit identifying Pelletier is not him and does not even look like Pelletier.

“I don’t think we have a case to talk about,” the commissioner said.

Maui resident Shep Gordon, a Hollywood producer, testified that he knows Pelletier and has seen this kind of lawsuit against public figures before.

“This is a classic nuisance suit,” Gordon said.

Testifying personally, Maui County Clerk Moana Lutey said Maui police chiefs have been sued many times in the past, and none of them has been put on paid leave. Lutey said putting Pelletier on leave would set a “dangerous precedent.”

Pelletier’s attorney Keola Whittaker also told the commission he just learned the amended complaint filed in a federal court in California has not yet been accepted by the court.

Whittaker said the amended complaint failed to name two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, as is usually required when filing a case, and no summons from the unsworn complaint has been issued to Pelletier.

“No summons was issued because it’s an inactive complaint,” Whittaker said.

Whittaker said Pelletier plans to request he be removed as a co-defendant. Whittaker said if the plaintiffs refuse, Pelletier will call for an investigation to clear his name.

The lawsuit accuses the police chief of abducting an unnamed mother and son in Las Vegas at gunpoint before taking them to numerous locations in California, staying overnight in a hotel and then visiting an apartment in Orinda, California, where the lawsuit says the rape occurred.

However, Pelletier said the allegations against him are lies, and he’s never even been to Contra Costa County in California. Pelletier also provided text messages, bank statements and other documents showing he was in Las Vegas during the dates in question.

“During that time, I was also in Las Vegas as verified by documented evidence” Pelletier said. “Additionally, I have no connections to any individuals named in the lawsuit.”

Bissen had recommended Pelletier be put on leave as police chief while the lawsuit is pending.

In a prepared statement to the media, Pelletier said he was deeply disappointed by the “rush to judgment of a baseless civil accusation.”

“This was done without affording me the opportunity to present documented proof of my whereabouts on the dates of these alleged incidents — evidence that categorically disproves these claims,” he said.

The police chief added that he remains fully committed to leading the police department and serving the community with honor and dignity.

“I sincerely appreciate the support from those who understand my character, dedication to my family, and lifelong commitment to this profession,” he said.

Pelletier said the image presented in the lawsuit claiming to be him was a screenshot from a video posted during the Feb. 4, 2018, Super Bowl in Minnesota, and he’s never been to Minnesota, nor attended a Super Bowl.

Pelletier also produced letters of support from former Maui County Police Chiefs Thomas Phillips and Gary Yabuta saying they believed Pelletier should not be put on leave.

In his letter dated March 13, Phillips said that as police chief, he was named in many civil lawsuits and he was never asked or ordered to step down while the case was being resolved.

“Civil cases often take years to resolve, if ever,” Phillips said. “Further, there is no mechanism for anyone from Maui County to investigate the allegations described in the complaint.”

Phillips described Pelletier as “an honest, hard working family man who wants nothing more than to improve and build on the successes our department has realized over the years.”

“It would be unfair to him, his family, our department and this community to require him to step down based on these unproven and outlandish civil allegations,” Phillips said.

Yabuta, who is the executive director the the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas funded under the executive office of the U.S. President, said that based on information produced thus far, he does not believe Chief Pelletier nor any public official under the same circumstances should be removed from office.

Yabuta said he has analyzed the situation at hand and shudders at the idea of removing someone from office without the sufficient release of facts or evidence.

“I ask for patience and support for the continued service of John Pelletier as the Maui Police Department chief of police, and that he remain in his position and office,” Yabuta said.