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Sen. Galea'i advises DPS — do not rush to get feds involved in police shootings

While the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked for assistance in the two shootings last year which targeted police, Acting Police Commissioner Save Liuato told senators that he has also appointed a six-member task force to focus attention on the local investigation.

 

However, Sen. Galeai Tu’ufuli cautioned against rushing to get the federal government involved and recommended that local authorities move expeditiously with their investigation, especially now, with a new task force in place.

 

In November, a drive-by-shooting caused damage to the Police Substation in Leone and weeks later on Dec. 28, a police vehicle was shot at in Lepuapua, seriously injuring one police officer who is now in Honolulu for further medical treatment.

 

Because it has been weeks since the two incidents occurred and there are still no arrests in either case, the Senate Public Safety/Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Sen. Faletagoai Tuiolemotu, yesterday held a hearing, as senators want to know the status of the investigation.

 

Appearing before the committee were Acting Police Commissioner, Save Liuato Tuitele; Homeland Security Department director Iuniasolua Savusa; and Chief of Police, Tauese Va’a Sunia.

 

Regarding the status of the investigation, Save explained that last week he appointed a six-member task force, who will focus solely on investigating the shootings.  Save said when he took over the post two weeks ago the investigation had already started and the task force is gathering more information and interviewing witnesses.

 

He also said that last Friday he sent a letter to the FBI seeking any assistance they could provide, including any available resources in accordance with federal law.  Save told Samoa News after the hearing that he also sent a separate request to the FBI for assistance in testing evidence recovered from the shooting of the Leone substation.

 

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Honolulu FBI spokesman, Special Agent Tom Simon said that American Samoan authorities have given the Honolulu FBI advance notice that a letter is forthcoming containing a request for FBI investigative assistance.

 

As of yesterday, the letter had not arrived and upon receipt of the request, “we will assess the contents and make a determination regarding FBI involvement,” Simon said from Honolulu.

 

“However, U.S. Department of Justice policies prohibit the FBI from confirming or denying the existence of an investigation unless or until criminal charges are filed,” he said. “Accordingly, there will be no further comments to the media about this matter until it becomes part of the public court record.”

 

HEARING

 

During the Senate hearing, Save said he will be asking the governor to set aside funds that can be used for a program which can be set up for “confidential sources”, who may be able to provide solid evidence in the two incidents, as there are so many unconfirmed reports circulating in the community about the shootings and police need such information as part of the investigation.

 

Sen. Galeai M. Tu’ufuli, a former police commissioner, said it has been several weeks since the shootings but there are still no arrests and no indication that any suspects have been identified as the culprits.

 

He says police investigations into these serious issues should be swift in moving to find suspects and prosecute those responsible. However, he is thankful to Save for setting up a task force to focus on the investigation.

 

Galeai said these types of issues — as well as drug problems — are not new to American Samoa, but now-a-days, there is "a new generation” of people whose lifeline depends on these illegal activities — such as the drug trade — and they will do everything to protect their operations, and that includes stopping police in any manner.

 

“By now, police should have been long prepared for how to respond to these types of problems  because — again — they are not new,” he said.

 

While there has been no public disclosure by the local authorities, Samoa News should point out that there has been a lot of speculation and talk in the community that the two shootings last year were drug related, with allegations that the drug dealers don't want police raiding their operations.

 

During the Senate hearing, Galeai pointed out that police investigation depends on “intelligence” gathered from witnesses and that Americans came up with “undercover” officers to root out these types of crimes. He said this practice should be utilized in the territory.

 

According to the Manu’a senator, it's crucial that DPS work in collaboration with the local Homeland Security Department. He pointed out that when Tuaolo M. Fruean, who is not a law enforcement man, was police commissioner, he worked closed with then Homeland Security director Mike Sala in ensuring that these problems were tackled immediately.

 

Responding to a committee question, Savusa said that his department is actively coordinating law enforcement work with DPS and this includes “intel collection” from members of the public with useful information.

 

Later in the hearing, which lasted for just over two hours, Galeai recommended to Save to “get your house in order”— referring to DPS.  “Clean up that place. If you have people you trust in place, you need to equip [them] with the right resources” and if funding is needed to achieve it, ask the governor,” he said.

 

Galeai also recommended that Save not rush into getting help from the feds because when they come here “they will clean up that place. They are going to clean up this place to the limit.” He says that he believes in having the local police force handle the investigation, and giving the task force team a chance

 

Before the hearing ended, Faletagoai told the witnesses that they have heard statements and concerns from senators, who want the culprits in the shootings to be identified and brought to justice."Prosecute them,” he stated.

 

Some senators said another hearing will be needed for an update from DPS and the next hearing should be closed-door, to protect any confidential information from leaking to the public.

 

See future Samoa News editions on other issues covered in the Senate hearing.