A Kaua‘i County lifeguard is seeking legal redress against upper-level supervisors in the Kaua‘i County Fire Department for allegedly using their authority to harass him and to have his job terminated.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court on O‘ahu in early October, lifeguard Carl Ragasa claimed he was unjustly charged with harassment by police following incidents in which he questioned whether a firefighter was certified to train him in ocean rescue techniques.
Ragasa, who became a county lifeguard in 1992, claims in the law suit that fire department officials unfairly took action against him for signing a petition in December 2001 that asked whether fire officials should manage the county’s water safety bureau.
One survey asked whether the fire department should have command and control over the training of lifeguards. The lawsuit claimed 17 of 20 county lifeguards signing the petition said “no” to that question.
Ragasa also contended department officials gave preferential treatment and employment opportunities to lifeguards who were friendly to them.
The situation escalated to a point where, according to an internal county report obtained by The Garden Island, Ragasa allegedly made verbal threats against county firefighter Sid Kini and county lifeguard Ethan Sage in Hanalei Bay in March 2002 when the two men were holding a lifeguard training session near the lifeguard tower Ragasa is stationed at in front of the Hanalei Pavilion.
Ragasa said he met with Mayor Bryan Baptiste to try to resolve the dispute, but no progress was made. Baptiste was not available for comment yesterday.
County officials declined to comment on the case.
Ragasa, who has been a county lifeguard for 13 years, said from his point of view department officials were breaking their own rules in dealing with him and had methodically set up situations to force him to be fired from his job.
Ragasa has been directly involved with and has supported life-threatening rescues in the dangerous ocean waters along the North Shore. He is considered by his peers as a “Hawaiian” waterman because of his skill and experience in North Shore surf. In the early 1990s Ragasa was the first person known to have paddled a surfboard between Ni‘ihau and West Kaua‘i.
Also named in the lawsuit as a plaintiff was Ragasa’s wife, Kanani.
Named as defendants in the suit are former Kaua‘i Fire Chief David Sproat, fire battalion chief Bob Kaden, county firefighter Sid Kini, and Sage.
The Lihu‘e-based law firm of Richards and Zenger filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court.
Attorney Mark Zenger said the federal court was chosen because the case aims to prove wrongdoing by government officials “committed under the guise of their official capacities.”
Kaden said he was aware of the pending lawsuit and referred media inquires to the Kaua‘i County Attorney’s Office.
County Attorney Lani Nakazawa said the county recently received a copy of the lawsuit and that “we are still reviewing it.” She declined to comment on the case.
A scheduling conference on the suit has been set at 9 a.m. on Dec. 29 before Magistrate Judge Barry M. Kurren in a federal courtroom in Honolulu.
The lawsuit noted the Kaua‘i fire department took control of the water safety bureau from the Kaua‘i County Public Works Department in July 2000.
Some lifeguards said they respected Kaden but wanted a full-time lifeguard to run the division. Kaden, however, has served as a lifeguard with the City and County of Honolulu.
One of the petitions mentioned by Ragasa in the suit asked whether Kaden should be involved with the running of the water safety bureau
In the lawsuit, Ragasa also contended that in early 2001, the defendants, while acting in their official capacities, conspired to have him fired and to damage his reputation in the community.
The suit focuses on an incident that occurred in March 2002. At that time Kini, while at the lifeguard tower in Hanalei Bay, ordered Ragasa to “submit” to open ocean lifesaving training under his supervision and tutelage, the lawsuit said.
In turn, Ragasa demanded Kini display documentation showing he was certified to train him in that manner. No documents were provided, the lawsuit claimed, and Ragasa refused to be trained by Kini.
Later in the month, Kini, allegedly under orders from his superiors, Sproat and Kaden, approached Ragasa at the same lifeguard tower with the same proposal. Again, Ragasa refused to follow Kini’s orders.
Ragasa contended county officials, Sproat and Kaden knew Kini was not properly certified when Kini insisted on training him.
According to a report Kini sent to Kaden, Ragasa asked his wife to attack Sage while they were in Hanalei Bay at the time of the second incident. Ragasa’s wife was in a county lifeguard storeroom on the beach at the time.
Later, Kini alleges in the report, Ragasa threatened him and Sage again near the Hanalei Pavilion station at a time when they were on the beach with other lifeguards for an equipment training session.
In the report to Kaden, Kini said they all feared for their safety because of Ragasa’s reputed background in martial arts.
On March 27, the lawsuit contends, Kini and Sage, allegedly acting on orders from Sproat and Kaden, reported to Kaua‘i police officers that Ragasa had threatened them with bodily harm and harassed them at their workplace.
While on duty, Ragasa was arrested by police officers, was booked and detained on March 30, 2002, the lawsuit states. Ragasa said it seemed strange to him that it took nearly ten days from the first harassment incident for him to be charged. “It looks like a conspiracy to me,” Ragasa said when asked about the incident.
County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Soong was not available for comment Friday, but Ragasa said the charges were dropped because there was no proof he harassed anyone, and that “it was him (Sage) who started it,” Ragasa said.
Sage told The Garden Island that he had asked the authorities to drop the charges because he was hoping for a friendly solution to the intra-department situation.
Ragasa said he felt victimized. “With no verbal warning, no proper write-ups (by supervisors), I was arrested by my bosses, which is not a county procedure,” Ragasa said. “It was totally personal.”
Sage declined to discuss the lawsuit in any detail, but told The Garden Island the charges were dropped after he denied that Ragasa threatened him.
Ragasa claims in the suit that between March and November of last year, the plaintiffs retaliated against him by claiming he violated water safety bureau procedures.
Ragasa and his wife are asking for general, specific and punitive damages to be determined.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
