$250,000 Settlement Approved For Honolulu Police Detective
HPD Detective Maile Rego sued in 2021, claiming she suffered retaliation after accusing the department of failing to issue a timely Amber Alert.
The Honolulu City Council on Wednesday approved a $250,000 settlement for a Honolulu police detective who accused the department of gender discrimination and failing to issue a timely Amber Alert in a missing child case.
Maile Rego, a detective in the child and family violence detail, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in 2021 accusing the Honolulu Police Department of failing to take proper action after a baby was reported missing on Feb. 10 of that year.
HPD should have entered the child’s information into Hawaii鈥檚 Missing Children Information Clearinghouse within two hours of her being reported missing but did not, Rego’s lawsuit says.
She notified a lieutenant, the FBI and the attorney general about the delayed response and then faced retaliation from the department, according to her complaint.聽
She also said she faced gender discrimination unrelated to the missing child case that took a physical and emotional toll.
鈥淚t鈥檚 affected my passion for what I used to love,鈥 Rego said at the time. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my calling to protect kids. And everything that鈥檚 happened has hurt my soul. I get it, why people don鈥檛 want to speak up.鈥
Her lawyer, Joseph Rosenbaum, said in a statement that Rego is glad HPD 鈥渢ook what happened to her seriously鈥 and settled the case.
鈥淒et. Rego wants the best for HPD鈥檚 law enforcement personnel moving forward and she firmly believes HPD will work towards making HPD a better workplace,鈥 the statement says.
Spokespeople for HPD and the City and County of Honolulu did not return requests for comment.
