Dale Kahaki, pictured with his wife Sacha, died before his claim against his employer, the New Zealand Police, could be heard. Photo / Supplied
A veteran cop who took an employment case against the New Zealand Police died before it could be heard.
Now, Dale Kahaki’s grievance has been heard, with his family continuing the fight on his behalf, and he has won.
NZ Police have been ordered to pay his estate $25,000 in compensation.
Kahaki had worked for the NZ Police in Waikato for almost 30 years, rising to senior constable and working as the district’s fleet manager, before he witnessed a traumatic roadside accident and developed PTSD.
He took some time off work and by the time he returned, he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma and needed to take more leave for medical treatment.
When Kahaki again returned to work, a superior officer asked him to explain his leave, his health, and to hand over the keys to a police vehicle he’d been using.
What followed was several years of allegations of fraud, the threat of criminal charges against Kahaki, which never eventuated, and an employment investigation that resulted in a warning for misusing the police database.
Kahaki went on to take the NZ Police to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
He claimed he had been unjustifiably disadvantaged by the time it took police to carry out their investigations, and that they didn’t give him a chance to respond to the serious allegations against him.
Kahaki died in August last year, before the authority could hear his case, but his family later fought his case on his behalf.
“It just makes me sad that he spent the last four years of his life fighting this,” his wife, Sacha, told NZME today.
“It just wasted the last moments of his life having this hanging over him.”
Sacha said being a police officer was her husband’s identity, and being accused of fraud was extremely hard on him and his family.
“I think the worst thing was that when he was first accused, he didn’t know what he’d done wrong,” she said.
“I’m just relieved it’s done and dusted, and I hope in the future people won’t be treated like this.”
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said NZ Police acknowledged the authority’s ruling.
“We recognise this has been a long process for Mr Kahaki’s family, who are no doubt still grieving his loss,” she said.
According to the ERA’s decision, released today, Kahaki joined the force in 1993 and served primarily in the Waikato before being promoted to Senior Constable in 2004.
In 2016, he attended a traumatic roadside fatality and developed PTSD, needing to take several months off work before being cleared to return in July 2017.
However, by that time, he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma. But because he’d already used up his leave, he had to take leave without pay while he received medical treatment.
By May 2018, he was back at work part-time on light duties. The following year, he became the district fleet manager for Waikato, reporting to the road policing manager for the district, Inspector Jeffrey Penno.
In July 2020, Penno met with Kahaki to discuss his leave, health, and to ask why he had an unmarked police car in his possession. Penno subsequently took the keys from Kahaki.
Five days later, Penno filed a report containing several serious allegations against Kahaki, including that he’d unlawfully converted the police vehicle, used a police fuel card fraudulently, and he’d failed to submit timesheets and record his holidays and leave.
None of the allegations raised by Penno were discussed with Kahaki, but the report was forwarded to human resources and the police’s professional conduct manager at the time.
Later that month, Kahaki was stood down for 30 days while an investigation into the criminal allegations was conducted, and was placed on restricted duties.
When the district prevention manager asked how Kahaki was doing by text, he responded that he felt “crushed, worthless and stressed” and that his health had taken a dive.
Kahaki employed a lawyer, who made information requests of the police about Kahaki’s health, leave and other documents. By 2021, police responded, but withheld Penno’s report.
In February 2021, a final report from police found there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations of fraudulent fuel card use.
However, there was some evidence to suggest he had modified a police vehicle by changing the wheels, as well as failing to submit timesheets and records of his holidays and leave, though the report suggested this could be resolved through a professional conversation.
Kahaki was not charged in relation to the criminal allegations.
In October 2021, Kahaki was notified that police would be commencing an employment investigation, this time into allegations he’d used a police vehicle without authorisation and that he’d accessed the police database without proper reason, including by sharing a photo from the database with a member of the public.
Police advised that they had conducted an audit of his police login and found he’d made 487 searches of the database that didn’t appear to be for a legitimate work purpose, and had occurred while he was on sick leave.
At the conclusion of the employment investigation, Kahaki was issued a written warning relating to his use of the database and was required to take a privacy learning module.
Kahaki’s lawyer raised multiple personal grievances with the police, which were later lodged with the ERA in September 2022.
The ERA held a hearing into Kahaki’s claim earlier this year, during which his family appeared on his behalf.
It was claimed that Penno didn’t give Kahaki a chance to respond to the allegations against him.
Authority member Peter Fuiava found that Penno understood little of Kahaki’s role as fleet manager, and said it was necessary to find out more before escalating to an investigation.
“Put differently, the escalation of the report was premature and disadvantaged Senior Constable (SC) Kahaki unjustifiably. This was not the action of what a fair and reasonable employer could have done in the circumstances,” Fuiava said.
It was also claimed that Kahaki was unjustifiably disadvantaged by the time police took to disclose documents to his legal team.
Fuiava said there was a delay of almost seven months between the conclusion of the police’s criminal investigation and the start of its employment investigation, during which Kahaki anxiously waited for the result.
“The delay affected him physically, mentally and spiritually with respect to his mana and self-worth to both his family and to his local community,” he said.
Fuiava said police kept Kahaki in the dark, and could have let him know that a criminal investigation had concluded, and that he wouldn’t be charged.
He ordered NZ Police to pay Kahaki’s estate $25,000 in compensation.
“It is accepted that employment investigations are inherently upsetting and distressing for those who are the subject of such processes,” he said.
“However, in SC Kahaki’s case, the police knew he had a history of PTSD and that he had been terminally ill.
“An employer can be expected to take reasonable steps to manage or mitigate risks that could exacerbate known sensitivities and vulnerabilities.”
On Kahaki’s database searches, Fuiava found police were justified in investigating allegations he’d used it improperly and for issuing him a backdated warning.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū, covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.