Kauai Police Commission Selects San Diego Deputy Chief Rudy Tai

The Kauai Police Commission selected San Diego Police Department Deputy Chief Rudy Tai on November 21 to be the next chief of the Kauai Police Department, offering him the role that would make him the department ninth top cop if he is ultimately sworn in. Tai emerged from a six month search that produced 42 applicants, with four finalists named in an agenda posted on November 14 and interviewed one week later before the commission voted to extend the offer.

Tai must still pass a background check, and medical and psychological evaluations before he can be sworn in. The selection comes as Kauai grapples with a police force facing morale challenges and rising vacancies after Chief Todd Raybuck retired in June following a rocky six year tenure that included a recorded tantrum, racist remarks which he apologized for, and a three day suspension for leaving his gun in a station bathroom.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, the department officers union, raised concerns about the speed of the finalist announcement and the limited public window to evaluate candidates. The union sent a letter to the commission two days ago with research into the finalists backgrounds and highlighted Tai's prior supervisory role in San Diego. The letter notes that Tai supervised San Diego officer Anthony Arevalos in the late 1990s before Arevalos was convicted in a sex assault scandal involving more than a dozen victims, including a mentally disabled woman. Critics contend Tai did not take internal discipline against that officer seriously.

“The Kauai Police Department is suffering from huge internal problems as a result of the former chief of police, and we know that any external baggage that is brought to the department with an incoming chief of police is not going to help that problem,” said Nicholas Schlapak, president of SHOPO. The union letter adds “Tai’s documented response was a verbal warning (for Arevalos) with no formal documentation or internal investigation.” Schlapak also said “The department and the public deserves to know this information in a transparent, straightforward manner. If somebody is bringing issues with them or questionable situations that possibly could be explained, then that needs to all be aired out.”

The other finalists included Teresa Ewins, who abruptly left the Lincoln Police Department in Nebraska, Robert Lawson, a captain with the Reno Police Department, and Roderick Green, a captain with KPD and the only internal candidate. The commission must now oversee the remaining checks and consider any public input as Kauai evaluates whether Tai can lead efforts to stabilize morale, address vacancies, and rebuild community trust.