KAILUA-KONA — A Hawaii County police official refused to field questions from the Police Commission when asked about a missing drug evidence investigation.
“I won’t comment,” Deputy Chief Kenneth Bugado Jr. said to commissioners Friday morning at the West Hawaii Civic Center. “It’s an ongoing investigation.”
Commission Chairman Peter Hendricks responded to Bugado saying transparency is important in these types of situations. The deputy chief agreed with him.
On Thursday, the department released information that a former Hawaii County police officer was a person of interest after drugs were found missing from evidence. The initial investigation began in October 2017. According to authorities, cocaine recovered as evidence in 2014 was found to be lighter than reported during its initial recovery.
According to a police release, it states the discrepancy was discovered when the evidence was being weighed in preparation to utilize a small quantity of the drug for training purposes.
At the time of the investigation, the release indicates, the officer was immediately placed on administrative leave without pay. Audits of other evidence recovered by the officer revealed “other anomalies, which revealed cases whereby there was a weight discrepancy in marijuana concentrate, (hashish), from two separate investigations.”
The officer has since retired from the department. Hawaii County Prosecutor Mitch Roth said he believed the individual retired this year; however, it could have been at the end of 2017. Roth didn’t know if the former employee was receiving retirement benefits.
In an interview on Hawaii Public Radio, Ferreira said the officer held the rank of detective. The former officer’s years of service were not disclosed. The officer’s identity was also not released, nor was the amount of drugs missing.
After Friday’s meeting, Hendricks explained the role of the commission.
“We hire and fire the chief,” he said. “We oversee discussions with the budget, we hear complaints on sworn and civilian personnel and take action on those matters.”
Commissioners are appointed by the mayor and approved by the Hawaii County Council.
“We are an independent commission,” Hendricks said. “It’s these guys and lady here to ensure police are doing their job.”
The chairman said he wanted more detail about the missing drug evidence investigation, but realizes the department is precluded from discussing it because it is an ongoing investigation.
“I’m hoping this case can be resolved and the public can know details that will allow us to make necessary changes to make the department better,” Hendricks said. “We need to have absolute zero tolerance for actions which damage the police department’s ability to serve the public.”
Hawaii County Police Chief Paul K. Ferreira was not present at the commission meeting on Friday. Bugado informed commissioners the chief was on Oahu attending a meeting that was part of the Hawaii inter-island bomb squad.
Ferreira has declined to make further statements regarding the investigation.
“As stated in the media release this is still an open investigation, therefore, no additional comments will be made by me or my staff,” Ferreira stated in an email Thursday afternoon.
The case was forwarded to the Hawaii County Prosecutor’s Office on March 2 for a review of possible charges.
“We’re determining whether to keep it here or if we have any conflicts,” Roth said.
If a conflict of interest is determined, Roth said, the case would be forwarded to the Department of the Attorney General, where it could be prosecuted or assigned to a prosecutor’s office in another county.