2023-05-19 Police Commission Regular Minutes

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Hawaii Police Commission Regular Session Minutes May 19, 2023 Page 4 doesn't want to leave them without a remedy, so he rather they hold it in abeyance, and if they come back and the commission says they can't go forward at that point in time, then so be it, he won't object, but he rather not be in a position to have to go forward today because he thinks it's premature. If they create a defect, dismiss it, it's their problem, but he doesn't feel it's a problem for the commission to put it in abeyance as he requested. Commissioner Bertsch stated as long as his clients are in agreement, that's fine, he just wants to make sure that they don't close that door by mistake. Mr. Seitz stated they spoke about it before the meeting and are in agreement. Commissioner Quartararo asked if Mr. Kahele-Bishop is one of the plaintiffs in the civil suit. Mr. Seitz stated no, only his parents are. He's not a party in the civil suit, but he's been indicted for criminal misconduct related to the alleged threatening incident. DCC Frenz stated under the rules, it states the commission "shall not." This commission has no jurisdiction. They could parse it out with Mr. Seitz's assistance, parse out the criminal matter and comply with the rules. Since he is not a complainant and a plaintiff in the civil litigation for the wrongful death, if you focus on that, there would be potential for jurisdiction here. But because of the second interaction, which is very specific to the pending criminal matter against him, this commission doesn't have jurisdiction. She further stated for the record, this is just her legal guidance as the attorney for the commission, the commission is free to disregard her, but if you do something and step outside of your lane and there are civil or criminal ramifications, you may not receive legal representation. She wants to find a way to help them bring an action if they want to bring an action but also make sure that the commission complies with its rules as well. Mr. Seitz added it gets a little more complicated, Ms. Tripp-Gouveia is a co-filer of this complaint. She is not involved in any other matters. She was there when this incident arose. It was her and her daughter at whom the officer pointed a gun and she has the complaint. For all the reasons he indicated previously, they would prefer to wait to proceed with the complaint, it doesn't need to be adjudicated now. If there's a defect down the road, they'll take their claims elsewhere if they need to. DCC Frenz stated there's a defect now, but you would be able to file any other non- conflicting complaints with the Police Commission, as long as it's within the 90 days. She will leave it to the commission to decide how they choose to proceed. Commissioner Bertsch suggested they could withdraw this particular complaint, amend the parties to the complaint, and re-file, as long as they meet the 90-day requirement. Chair Robinson asked Mr. Seitz if this was something his clients would be prepared to do. Mr. Seitz stated they will do whatever the commission instructs them to do. He would prefer to not go forward today.