LIHUE — The retirement of the police chief, and the status of an investigation into complaints against him, were topics of discussion Friday.
The Kauai Police Commission released a statement after its monthly meeting indicating that it won’t be taking further action on two complaints against Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck. Raybuck announced to KPD employees on Nov. 13 that he would be retiring.
Two complaints alleging retaliation were filed by KPD officers in April against Raybuck. The commission concluded that the investigation revealed insufficient evidence and determined not to pursue further action.
“Today, after considering the evidence gathered during the investigations of Complaints KPC 2024-005 and 2024-006, both alleging that Police Chief Todd Raybuck retaliated against officers, the Police Commission declined to pursue further action on both complaints,” the release stated. “The Police Commission found that the evidence does not support the allegations made in the complaints to justify further action.”
The complaints were discussed by the commission members in executive session. The decision was announced in open session before the meeting was closed.
The commission also decided to form two permitted interaction groups to formulate recommendations for the commission’s consideration related to the hiring of a new police chief and an interim chief.
In the statement, the commission also clarified that Raybuck’s announcement of his retirement is not associated with any settlement involving the Kauai Police Commission and that there are no severance agreements linked to his decision to retire.
The release concluded, “This will be the only statement from the Kauai Police Commission on this matter at this time, as no further information is available.”
The Kauai Police Commission Rules 4-1 through 4-3 outlines the general selection process for the Chief of Police. For more information on the Kauai Police Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure, go to www.kauai.gov/Government/Boards-and-Commissions/Police-Commission.
The release also clarified, “Please note that the Kaua‘i County Charter Sec. 11.04 was amended in 2020 which changed the minimum requirements for the Chief of Police. However, KPC Rules do not currently reflect the 2020 Charter Amendment as the rules were last amended in 2018. To view the current language in the Charter of the County of Kaua‘i, Section 11.04, please visit the following link: https://tgilinks.com/4fGVyRi.”
