Police chief returning to work

In a dramatic turnaround, the Kaua’i County attorney announced Thursday afternoon that suspended police chief George Freitas would be asked back onto the job beginning next Monday morning.

Deputy county attorney Laurel Loo confirmed that Freitas was being allowed to return to work.

“I would not call it a reinstatement. Chief Freitas will be asked to return to work, effective Monday, now that the (Police Commission) investigation is concluded,” Loo said.

Freitas said he would accept.

Loo wouldn’t go into detail about why the county had decided to reinstate Freitas now, before all of the charges against him were officially dealt with.

Freitas was placed on administrative leave, with pay, Aug. 13.

“This whole thing has been a personnel issue, and I don’t feel it is appropriate to say anything further at this time,” Loo said.

A hearing on a temporary injunction filed against the county in federal district court in Honolulu by Freitas’ attorney, Margery Bronster, is still slated for Jan. 14, according to Loo.

Freitas also filed a lawsuit against the county, naming the Police Commission members, county attorney Hartwell Blake and Mayor Maryanne Kusaka as defendants.

Loo said that sending Freitas back to work didn’t affect the three commission allegations that haven’t been dismissed. The most serious of them is that the chief allegedly impeded an internal Police Department investigation of an officer.

Reached in Honolulu at his lawyer’s office, Freitas sounded surprised at the county’s turnaround.

“I’m in kind of disbelief. But if I am invited back to work, I want to go. It will be an interesting Monday,” he said.

Freitas said rumors within the department of reprisals by him if he came back to work were exaggerated.

“One of the worst things is that the members of the Police Department had to go through all of this. But when I get back and this thing is resolved, we are going to do an assessment of organizational loyalty,” Freitas said.

“I missed the people. There was a real attempt by some to come between me and the people there” in the department, said Freitas. He didn’t elaborate.

Freitas, who became a police officer in California in 1966, said, “You wear the uniform for a long time and you take it for granted. But when someone takes the right to wear the uniform away from you, it becomes real important to put the uniform back on again. I am still struggling with a lot of emotions. There is some joy but there is also deep frustration, things about this whole process I don’t understand.”

Freitas said he hadn’t talked to his attorneys about the disposition of his lawsuit against the county.

Bronster was unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon.

Deputy police chief Will Ihu, who was promoted to that position by Freitas, has been acting chief since Aug. 13. During that time, Ihu promoted liberally within the department. Freitas said those promotions would stand.

“Unless there are procedural flaws, I am not going to butt in and disrupt things,” he said.

Ihu said he didn’t foresee any serious problems upon the chief’s return.

“As long as we all remember that everything we do is for the benefit of the department and the community, we will be fine,” Ihu said.

Mel Morris, recently retired as the department’s chief inspector, and who along with Lt. Alvin Seto filed the allegations against Freitas with the Police Commission, was stunned when told Freitas was being reinstated.

“Whatever happens, happens. But I still feel I stood up for what was right and followed my conscience. It’s unfortunate that sometimes things just don’t go the right way,” Morris said.

There were eight charges in the original complaint against Freitas. Five were dismissed by the commission after an investigation by John Ko of the Honolulu Police Commission was completed in late November.

Staff writer Dennis Wilken can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:dwilken@pulitzer.net