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{"source_url": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com", "url": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/12/31/hawaii-news/officials-looking-at-council-womans-husband-in-relation-to-alleged-assault-on-another-public-servant/", "title": "Officials looking at council woman\u2019s husband in relation to alleged assault on another public servant", "top_image": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IAN_LEE_LOY_WEB.jpg", "meta_img": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IAN_LEE_LOY_WEB.jpg", "images": ["https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035032&cv=2.0&cj=1", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/themes/tribuneherald/images/logo-mobile.png", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/themes/tribuneherald/images/logo.png", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/themes/tribuneherald/openweathermap/icon.png", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IAN_LEE_LOY_WEB.jpg", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/themes/tribuneherald/images/logo-footer.png", "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/themes/tribuneherald/images/LongsDrugs-logo.png"], "movies": [], "text": "A retired Hawaii County police detective is under investigation for allegedly assaulting another county official while still a member of the department in the vicinity of a building that houses government offices.\n\nIan Lee Loy, who\u2019s married to Hilo Councilwoman Sue Lee Loy, is being investigated in the incident, according to official sources. Police confirmed only a report of an assault on July 25 on the 100 block of Aupuni Street.\n\nADVERTISING\n\nIan Lee Loy declined to comment on the criminal case, referring questions to his attorney, Donald Wilkerson, who also declined comment Monday.\n\nThe coconut wireless has been abuzz with allegations about the case for some months, with the newspapers receiving telephone calls and letters from readers asking why there\u2019s been no media coverage.\n\nLee Loy attributes an ongoing court case involving two other police officers who were indicted on charges of tipping off a gambling ring prior to a police raid as a possible reason for the buzz. He said he\u2019s expected to testify in the case that\u2019s scheduled for a hearing Jan. 6.\n\n\u201cAllegations of misconduct on my part and dragging Sue into it began to surface,\u201d he said. \u201cThese guys are trying to discredit me before I testify.\u201d\n\nCounty Prosecutor Mitch Roth, when asked about the criminal investigation into Lee Loy, would say only that he\u2019s \u201cconflicted out\u201d of the case and turned it over to another law enforcement agency. Roth wouldn\u2019t say which agency. In a previous case involving a high-profile public official, Roth turned it over to the state attorney general.\n\nKrishna F. Jayaram, special assistant to the attorney general, contacted Monday, said, \u201cour office doesn\u2019t confirm or deny with respect to investigations.\u201d\n\nTwo anonymous letters reached the county Board of Ethics, which discussed them and then filed them without action at its Dec. 11 meeting.\n\nThe unsigned letters, which are public record, accuse county officials of \u201csweeping this under the rug,\u201d because of the officials involved.\n\n\u201cIt seems to me, in this county, there are different laws for different people. I am very upset about this and feel that this should be made public,\u201d one Sept. 30 letter-writer said. \u201cI am not signing my name for fear of possible retaliation by the police department.\u201d\n\nEthics Board member David Wiseman, a former judge, was concerned about the letters. He wondered aloud if the board should look into the complaints.\n\n\u201cWhat we\u2019re having is two letters raising an issue that\u2019s professional misconduct,\u201d Wiseman said at the meeting. \u201cThis shouldn\u2019t simply go away. These are serious allegations.\u201d\n\nRoth, who was at the Ethics Board meeting on an unrelated matter, was circumspect in discussing the case in a public forum. He said he could talk about cases in general, not a specific case.\n\n\u201cSometimes it takes us a while to charge these cases. \u2026 During these periods of time no information will be given out on any of these cases,\u201d Roth said. \u201cIt\u2019s very possible that the system is working. \u2026 Looking at these letters you can\u2019t see what\u2019s going on.\u201d\n\nLee Loy said he\u2019s concerned about unequal application of the law as well. In fact, he said, he appeared before the Police Commission on Dec. 20 with a complaint about the department\u2019s policy of receiving and processing complaints from the public.\n\n\u201cComplainant alleged that an officer violated his rights by not allowing him to file a criminal complaint,\u201d is how Lee Loy\u2019s petition is characterized on the agenda. The matter was taken up behind closed doors in executive session, with the board then voting unanimously to refer the issue to the police chief for procedural investigation, according to Deputy Corporation Counsel Malia Hall.\n\nLee Loy retired July 31, less than a week after the incident, but both the detective and the councilwoman said Monday his retirement was being contemplated as early as last spring.\n\n\u201cMy retirement has been a plan a long time coming,\u201d Ian Lee Loy said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a force-out as some people are trying to say.\u201d\n\n\u201cI spoke with Sue,\u201d he added. \u201cI feel bad for her that she fields these types of questions.\u201d\n\nADVERTISING\n\nSue Lee Loy, in a separate phone call, echoed her husband\u2019s retirement plans.\n\n\u201cThe retirement was planned before this. One has nothing do with the other,\u201d Sue Lee Loy said. \u201cIt really was what was best for our family, and Ian addressing another personal matter that was way outside of my profession and his.\u201d", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": ["Volcano coverage", "Merrie Monarch"], "authors": ["Nancy Cook Lauer", "John Burnett West Hawaii Today", "Hawaii Tribune-Herald", "Tuesday", "December"], "publish_date": "Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 2019", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=0", "robots": "max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1", "og": {"locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "title": "Officials looking at council woman\u2019s husband in relation to alleged assault on another public servant", "description": "<p>A retired Hawaii County police detective is under investigation for allegedly assaulting another county official while still a member of the department in the vicinity of a building that houses government offices.</p>", "url": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/12/31/hawaii-news/officials-looking-at-council-womans-husband-in-relation-to-alleged-assault-on-another-public-servant/", "site_name": "Hawaii Tribune-Herald", "image": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IAN_LEE_LOY_WEB.jpg"}, "article": {"tag": "Editors' Picks", "section": "Hawaii News", "published_time": "2019-12-31T10:05:00+00:00"}, "twitter": {"card": "summary", "description": "A retired Hawaii County police detective is under investigation for allegedly assaulting another county official while still a member of the department in the vicinity of a building that houses government offices.", "title": "Officials looking at council woman\u2019s husband in relation to alleged assault on another public servant - Hawaii Tribune-Herald", "image": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_IAN_LEE_LOY_WEB.jpg"}, "generator": "AMP for WP 0.9.98.14"}, "canonical_link": "https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/12/31/hawaii-news/officials-looking-at-council-womans-husband-in-relation-to-alleged-assault-on-another-public-servant/"} |
