Watchdog group demands answers from MPD chief amid reports department mishandled Lahaina victims’ remains

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The head of a government watchdog group is urging Maui’s police commission to publicly question Chief John Pelletier about the Maui Police Department’s response in the days after the Lahaina wildfire.

This comes amid new reports victims’ remains were mishandled by the department.

Last week, MPD’s former longtime forensic morgue contractor revealed the department failed to follow many of the protocols for the respectful and accurate recovery of people who died in the fire.

When HNN Investigates asked Chief Pelletier about those claims, he refused to answer any questions regarding those processes. Now, there are a growing number of calls for the police commission and other county leaders to step up and get answers.

In the weeks after Greyson Abarra’s contract ended with MPD, he broke his silence on alleged missteps made by officers and officer recruits who had been ordered to recover human remains despite not having proper training.

When asked why he thought the community needed to hear this story, he stated, “To know what happened.”

Abarra says the process was so disorganized, he can’t guarantee all the ashes families received are actually those of their loved ones.

HNN Investigates

Camron Hurt says it’s a reality we cannot allow to be swept under the rug.

“This sting of a mom going to pray at a grave site and just never knowing. That’s something, that will never, ever be made right. And accountability could have gone a long way,” he said.

Now, the program manager at government watchdog group, Common Cause Hawaii, is calling on the police commission to get answers to questions Chief Pelletier is refusing to acknowledge.

On Oct. 3, HNN Investigates sent MPD a media request asking if proper protocols were followed. We also inquired about the department’s use of training recruits, if there was a rush to recover remains, and what if any steps the department has taken to prepare for future disasters.

None of those questions was answered.

HNN Investigates also gave the chief the opportunity to sit down with us for an on-camera interview.

Instead, a department spokesperson replied, “Please refer to our Preliminary After-Action Report, the Attorney General’s report, and the past official press conferences that provide comprehensive details addressing aspects of the recovery process.”

“Why not talk to us? There’s comfort in the sunshine. Step into the light,” Hurt said. “The police commission could have him come in and have him answer questions in a public forum. I think that’s critical. I also think that’s well overdue.”

There are also questions regarding why MPD leadership chose to assign the acting captain of technical services, a job that deals with things like contracts and capital improvement projects, as Lahaina’s daytime incident commander the morning after the fire.

Here’s what that acting captain told members of the Fire Safety Research Institute Panel during an interview for the Attorney General’s Wildfire Investigation:

Interviewer: “Any experience or training or certifications for large incidents like this that you brought with you?”

Jeremy Palone-Delatore: “As far as mass casualty events or training? No sir.”

HNN Investigates asked MPD leadership to explain its decision. We’re waiting for a response.

“It is the height of recklessness,” said Hurt. “Are we to believe that there was nobody of senior management level that had mass casualty training within the whole department?”

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Mishandling of human remains: Local forensic company breaks silence on Lahaina disaster response
• Maui PD won’t discuss allegations it owes forensic morgue contractor more than $270K

State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers spokesperson Dustin DeRollo told HNN Investigates, “This isn’t like any other job that police officers do. This is very, very unique. There are very, very specific policies. And whoever is overseeing that operation has to have training. Anybody else is not acceptable.”

DeRollo went on to say, “Families should not have to experience the trauma and the grief knowing that the remains of their loved ones — may not be their loved ones. And our officers do not deserve — based on the job they do every day — to feel that they have any part in desecrating somebody’s remains. That is very real. And it is very heavy for our officers. We want to make sure that never happens again.”

HNN Investigates sent emails to the Maui Police Commission, every member of the Maui County Council, and Mayor Richard Bissen’s office asking how they plan to address claims MPD botched the Lahaina recovery process.

Not one of those officials answered that question.

To which Hurt said, “Remember your own integrity. You must execute your position in the best most effective way for the general public.”

DeRollo said, “The public deserves to know what’s going to happen the next time one of these disasters happen, because it will happen.”

SHOPO says the department needs to prepare now by providing proper training as well as personal protective equipment necessary for officers to safely do their jobs.

“We’ve been over a year without officers receiving that equipment,” DeRollo said. “And that makes us ask the question: why isn’t that happening?”

As for how the public can get involved, Hurt said, “One, be at as many of our County Council meetings as you can be. They matter. Your testimony matters. Second, the police commission, you can show up. You can testify. You can offer written testimony.”

• Here is a link with information on how to testify at Maui County Council meetings.
• Here is a link with information on how to contact at the Maui Police Commission. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will find a phone number and email address. The meeting that was scheduled on Oct.16 has been canceled. The date and time for November’s police commission meeting is not yet posted. Continue to check the website for updates.

There is another facet to this story that Common Cause Hawaii is pushing to have addressed publicly: A claim MPD owes Abarra’s forensic morgue company more than a quarter million dollars for postmortem services the company provided in the wake of the Lahaina disaster.

When HNN Investigates asked if and when the department plans to pay Abarra, a spokesperson said, “MPD is currently conducting a criminal investigation into Grey Tech LLC, no further information is available at this time.”

Something Abarra says Maui PD never mentioned to him.

“You’ve been in business with this person you’re investigating years and years. So now is the time where it seems critical to have to investigate him? On what charges?” Hurt asked.

HNN Investigates asked Maui PD that same question, but the department wouldn’t tell us anything about the allegations. MPD leadership also wouldn’t tell us when the investigation was opened or what the report number is.

Meanwhile, Maui County says it has been informed of Abarra’s claim that he was never paid.

In a statement, the county communications director said, “Corporation Counsel is aware of and reviewing Mr. Abarra’s contractual allegations. We have no further comment at this time.”

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.