The county of Kauai in Hawaii has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing Police Chief Todd Raybuck of discriminating against a captain for being Japanese American. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged that Chief Raybuck mocked Asians on multiple occasions, including one instance where he squinted his eyes, bowed repeatedly, and stated that he couldn’t trust Japanese people. The settlement includes $45,000 in back wages, $181,000 in general damages, and $124,000 in legal fees for the captain, Paul Applegate, who is part Japanese. As part of the settlement, Applegate, who is now acting assistant chief of the Investigative Services Bureau, has agreed to retire from the department, with no admission of fault or liability.
Raybuck’s attorney, Jeffrey Portnoy, stated that the chief was opposed to the settlement and wanted the case to go to trial to prove that the claims were unwarranted. Raybuck became Kauai’s police chief in 2019 after retiring from a 27-year career as a police officer in Las Vegas. The lawsuit alleged that the police department announced the selection of a white officer as assistant chief of the administrative and technical bureau without a formal selection process. When Applegate applied for the position regardless, Raybuck interviewed him one-on-one, going against department practice that called for two people to conduct such interviews.
During their meeting to discuss the selection process, criteria, and scoring, the lawsuit states that Raybuck mocked the appearance of Japanese people by squinting his eyes, bowing repeatedly, and stating that he couldn’t trust Japanese people because they don’t always tell the truth. The chief allegedly compared Western and Japanese cultures, claiming that Western culture “tells it like it is” while Japanese culture says “yes, yes, yes” to your face even when they disagree. An independent committee found that the hiring process was done correctly, and the chief denies any discriminatory conduct, according to Portnoy. The settlement reached with Applegate includes no admission of liability from the county or police department.
Applegate’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. Portnoy mentioned that the chief was dismissed from the case before the settlement was finalized because he refused to agree to the settlement. The settlement terms provided by Kauai County include financial compensation for back wages, general damages, and legal fees for Applegate, who is in his 50s and part Japanese. As part of the agreement, Applegate, now the acting assistant chief of the Investigative Services Bureau, has agreed to retire from the police department, with no official admission of fault or liability in the settlement.
Despite the settlement, Chief Todd Raybuck denies any discriminatory conduct in his interactions with Captain Paul Applegate and during the hiring process for the assistant chief position. The lawsuit alleged that Raybuck mocked the appearance and trustworthiness of Japanese people, leading to the discrimination claim. While Raybuck’s attorney stated that the chief wanted the case to go to trial to prove the claims were unwarranted, the settlement was reached without an admission of liability from the county or police department. Applegate, the captain who filed the lawsuit, will receive financial compensation as part of the settlement while agreeing to retire from the department.
