HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Four Hawaii Department of Law Enforcement deputies filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming they were falsely arrested by their own administration to discredit claims of hostile work environment in a previous lawsuit.
Deputy Alvin Turla, Sgt. Erich Mitamura, and deputies William Keahi and William Gary claim that former DLE director Jordan Lowe and current Criminal Investigations Division head Wayne Ibarra orchestrated the arrests to counter harassment allegations made by 1st Deputy Lanikoa Dobrowolsky.
Dobrowolsky filed his complaint on June 11, 2024, alleging misconduct and sexual harassment that he said Lowe ignored.
One week later, on June 18, the arrests began for the four deputies who were not connected to Dobrowolsky’s case.
All four were arrested and booked for harassment, accused of making inappropriate comments to an African American deputy referencing fried chicken and some of his facial features.
Attorney Megan Kau represents the four deputies. She said those comments should have been handled internally and not criminally.
Kau said the arrests were suspicious and designed to provide Lowe with a defense against Dobrowolsky’s claims.
“In order to defend himself, Lowe, via Wayne Ibarra, used their powers and authority to arrest these four innocent people and threaten the arrest of other innocent deputies in order to provide a potential defense to the Dobrowolsky lawsuit,” Kau said.
The lawsuit alleges abuse of process, two counts of inflicting emotional distress, and negligent training and supervision.
The deputies said they lost out on overtime, special assignments and holiday pay because of the arrests which led to restricted duty.
While no specific monetary amount was requested in the lawsuit, taxpayers would cover the cost if a jury sides with the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit targets the state, Lowe and Ibarra in both their professional and personal capacities.
Lowe has since retired and could not be reached for comment.
Ibarra is still employed at DLE. Hawaii News Now reached out to the agency to see if Ibarra wanted to respond, and did not hear back.
The state attorney general’s office, which represents the defendants, has not yet been served with the complaint and a spokesperson said they do not comment on pending litigation.
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