LIHUE, Hawaii 鈥� The police chief on the Hawaiian island of Kauai mocked people of Asian descent and in one case 鈥渟quinted his eyes鈥� and bowed his head while mimicking someone with a Japanese accent, a discrimination investigation found.
In another incident, Kauai police Chief Todd Raybuck relayed a story of meeting someone of Asian descent in a restaurant in which he parodied the person鈥檚 speech and mannerisms, the investigation by the Kauai Police Commission said.
The chief, according to internal documents obtained by The Garden Island newspaper, said the person had a haircut that looked like something out of a 鈥淜ung Fu movie.鈥�
Raybuck violated county discrimination policies and created a hostile work environment for an officer based on race, the investigaton found. Both are cause for 鈥渁ppropriate corrective action,鈥� said a Feb. 26 letter about the investigation written by commission chair Catherine Adams.
鈥淕iven the findings regarding violation of the Policy Against Discrimination, the Commission will take appropriate corrective action to assure that future violations do not occur,鈥� Adams wrote in the letter. 鈥淭he details of the corrective action are confidential personnel matters.鈥�
The recipient of the letter was not disclosed.
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said if the allegations against Raybuck are true, they are hurtful, particularly to Asian Americans. He said discrimination cannot be tolerated.
鈥淭hese allegations do not reflect the Chief Raybuck that I know and work closely with. If found to be true, I feel a deep obligation to forgive, and this will not impact my ability to work together with him moving forward to serve the people of Kauai," Kawakami said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
The mayor 鈥� who noted he is the grandson of a Japanese immigrant 鈥� urged the community to not let this be the focus of the police department and of the island.
"I humbly ask our people to not play the role of judge and jury, and that we give our chief a chance to explain himself and his actions,鈥� Kawakami said.
An Associated Press phone call to Raybuck鈥檚 office seeking comment Wednesday was transferred to Kauai County鈥檚 public information office, which didn鈥檛 immediately return a message.
The commission received an internal complaint against Raybuck in September. The investigation found two incidents that year, on July 29 and Nov. 13, violated the county鈥檚 discrimination policy, according to Adams鈥� letter.
Raybuck was accused of invoking broad stereotypes when explaining in the July incident why an employee of Japanese descent wasn鈥檛 chosen for a promotion, according to audio recordings submitted as evidence for the complaint and obtained by Lihue newspaper.
鈥淪o, somebody in the Japanese culture, if they think your idea is absolutely stupid and the dumbest thing they鈥檝e ever heard, what鈥檚 their typical response to you?鈥� Raybuck said, according to the newspaper. 鈥溾�榊es, yes, yes.鈥欌��
The complaint alleges Raybuck squinted and bowed his head when making the comments.
In the Nov. 13 incident, Adams wrote that Raybuck described to his command staff an Asian customer he saw at a fast-food restaurant. Raybuck used 鈥渇acial gestures and accent, and commented on an employee鈥檚 haircut as something out of a Kung Fu movie,鈥� according to the letter.
The complaint said the chief laughed and thought his demonstration was funny.
Adams said the incident also was found to violate the county鈥檚 policy against discrimination.
Other incidents involving complaints of
Raybuck became the Kauai police chief in 2019, following his retirement after nearly 27 years from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Associated Press
