HONOLULU — A 32-year-old sheriff’s deputy found dead in his apartment Monday was allegedly being pressured about his role in an incident that led to him and four other deputies having their police powers restricted in June, according to an email sent Tuesday to the entire Department of Law Enforcement written by another of the suspended deputies.
Jordan J. Kagehiro’s body was found during a welfare check of his home. The DLE announced his death in a news release Monday that made no mention of his employment status, or when he was found.
Kagehiro, a U.S. Army Reservist, was both “a witness in this investigation and is part of the investigation,” Jordan Lowe, DLE director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview, saying that Kagehiro was not being pressured despite claims in the email.
Lowe said DLE’s Office of Inspector General is conducting an administrative probe at the same time the department’s Criminal Investigation Division was looking into the incident.
He declined to disclose what happened, but said it is “related to misconduct on the part of those officers that does involve an alleged assault.”
Detectives with the Honolulu Police Department’s homicide detail continue to investigate Kagehiro’s death.
The Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner did not have any information to provide Tuesday about the cause and manner of Kagehiro’s death.
Kagehiro and four other sheriff’s deputies were placed on restriction of police authority June 10, with “no mention of what we are being accused of, till this day still nothing,” according to the profanity laced email from one of the suspended deputies, Raul Rodriguez, that was obtained by the Star-Advertiser.
Kagehiro was allegedly the last deputy on the scene of an incident involving a homeless woman at the state Capitol, according to multiple law enforcement sources. He and another deputy who drove were allegedly ordered to transport the woman away from the Capitol and they dropped her off at Sandy Beach Park.
Prior to Kagehiro’s arrival on the scene, deputies allegedly used force to detain the woman at the Capitol but did not file use of force reports, per department policy.
Kagehiro was allegedly threatened by an investigator with the DLE’s Criminal Investigation Division with “jail, federal charges, and being kicked out of the Army and then they isolated him telling him he could not talk to anyone or there would be repercussions.
“Myself, Deputy Kagehiro, and three other deputies were put on this ROPA status for a frivolous charge which is still being investigated,” wrote Rodriguez.
Kagehiro was “singled out” because he was in the same recruit class as a CID investigator, Rodriguez alleged, noting that Kagehiro retained a private attorney.
DLE investigators were “dragging” the investigation out “hoping people get more scared, now this poor kid ran out of money. Can everyone see the picture I’m painting, threatened, afraid, no money, going to jail, can’t talk to no one, what’s there to live for, right?,” wrote Rodriguez, who blamed DLE’s top leaders and the head CID investigator for Kagehiro’s death. “Now he is gone. …”
Rodriguez wrote that Kagehiro took his own life with a handgun and that the DLE’s administrators do not have the “courage to tell his family why he did this but no worries because I will make sure his family, the media, and anyone who wants to know the facts of this suicide knows the truth.”
Lowe told the Star-Advertiser in an interview that Kagehiro “was not being unduly pressured” about his role in the incident that led to his suspension.
“As in any investigation, we would interview and talk to people to try and gather the facts,” Lowe said. “Our profession is a tough profession. He was at the start of his career, he chose a life of public service. It’s just tragic.”
The Hawaii Government Employees Association, the union that represents sheriff’s deputies, told the Star-Advertiser that the “HGEA ohana is deeply saddened at the passing of Deputy Sheriff Jordan Kagehiro, and we share our heartfelt condolences with his family and colleagues.”
“The union has no additional information to share and defer to the Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Law Enforcement for comment,” said Malulani Moreno, HGEA’s communications manager.
Lowe sent an internal note Monday urging DLE personnel to check on friends and family and seek support services if needed.
Lowe implored workers who may be “feeling overwhelmed or hopeless” to please immediately call or text 988 or visit the website for Hawaii Cares at hicares.hawaii.gov.
Kagehiro graduated from the most recent Law Enforcement Recruit Class on Dec. 15 after six months and more than 1,000 hours of training.
The sheriff’s division was absorbed by the DLE Jan. 1.
The department has come under scrutiny for other incidents in recent weeks, with multiple internal investigations into allegations of misconduct by sheriff’s deputies resulting in four arrests and multiple suspensions but no charges as of Wednesday. And on Aug. 19, a 35-year-old off duty sheriff’s deputy was arrested by Honolulu police after he allegedly pointed a gun at a fisher in Maili during an argument.
