Maile Rego says HPD supervisors held her back from job opportunities, among other forms of retaliation.
After a baby was reported missing and presumed dead in February, Honolulu police officials failed to take proper action and retaliated against a detective who criticized the department’s response, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed on Thursday.
Maile Rego, a detective in the child and family violence detail, alleges in her complaint that HPD was required to issue a timely Maile Amber Alert when 18-month old Kytana Ancog was reported missing on Feb. 10.
“HPD utterly failed to do so,” the complaint states.
After Rego, 41, notified an HPD lieutenant, the FBI and the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center Hawaii about the delayed response, she alleges that she faced retaliation: She was threatened with an investigation for unauthorized computer access for pulling up a report on Kytana’s case.
The lawsuit also alleges gender discrimination unrelated to the Kytana case. It’s part of a pattern of discrimination and retaliation at HPD that has taken a physical and emotional toll, according to Rego and her attorney Joe Rosenbaum.
“It’s affected my passion for what I used to love,” Rego said. “It’s my calling to protect kids. And everything that’s happened has hurt my soul. I get it, why people don’t want to speak up.”
HPD spokeswoman Sarah Yoro issued a brief statement about the lawsuit.
“We will be working with the city’s Corporation Counsel to address the allegations,” she said.
READ FULL ARTICLE AT: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/08/detective-alleges-retaliation-for-criticizing-hpd-inaction-in-missing-baby-case/