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After reviewing investigations of three employee complaints that alleged a hostile work environment, the nine-member Maui Police Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to not initiate disciplinary proceedings against Police Chief John Pelletier.
For the good of Maui County, we wish that was that. Put the drama swirling around the chief and commission to bed and move forward to make MPD the best force in the land. The hearing was a chance to answer all the questions, clear the air and start anew.
Instead, there are still five more complaints pending against the chief and members of his executive staff. Answers from the Police Commission have been slim and got slimmer Wednesday when Commission Chairman Frank De Rego chose to table questions posed by unnamed officers. Platitudes from Las Vegas friends of the chief were permitted but not queries from MPD's rank and file.
As we go about our job, we have the pleasure of interacting with quite a few former Maui cops. They tell us they are concerned for the department and the drain it is seeing across its ranks, especially the number of senior officers leaving. Who is going to fill those positions? they ask. More than a few wonder if new rules will be introduced to allow lateral transfers from the Mainland and if that has been the plan all along.
When the commission decides to answer questions concerning things like its motives, possible conflicts of interest and overall blueprint for the department, here are a few we would appreciate answers to:
Why hasn't the commission reached out to recently retired officers and invited a group of them to gather for a talk story session? There is a lot of experience and brainpower to be tapped.
Why did Pelletier receive no discipline for "raised voices and unprofessional language" when former county Prosecuting Attorney Don Guzman was fired for such conduct?
Why has the commission taken no action to place Pelletier and Assistant Chief Charles Hank on leave while complaints against them are being investigated?
In what context did the raised voices and unprofessional language described in the complaints occur?
Who is paying for Pelletier's executive coach?
Why has De Rego refuse to allow the police union SHOPO to give a presentation at a commission meeting, as SHOPO has said?
Why did most commission members not attend a SHOPO presentation on its MPD morale survey showing that up to 100 officers are considering leaving in the next two years?
Where do the chief and commission stand on the number of concealed carry permits that will be issued in Maui County, which so far has been the only county in Hawaii to issue a carry permit since the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling, as the AP reported?
Are there any conflicts of interest on this issue?
It is not too late for Pelletier and the commission to turn things around, but ducking questions posed by concerned officers is no way to go about it.