A lawsuit names Maui Police Chief Pelletier as an associate in a 2018 Diddy rape case, Mayor Bissen calls for leave and investigation

Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen is asking the Police Commission to place Maui Police Department Chief John Pelletier on leave after the chief was named in a lawsuit alleging he posed as a sheriff to a woman who reported being raped by Sean “Diddy” Combs and took two people at gunpoint from Las Vegas to the California home where they witnessed the rape of the woman in 2018.

The allegations came to light on Friday when lawyers for Ashley Parham and two other plaintiffs, John and Jane Doe, amended the lawsuit that was originally filed in October in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Pelletier was among several defendants named in the amended complaint, along with comedian Drew “Druski” Desbordes and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. 

On Monday, Bissen sent a letter to the Maui Police Commission recommending that Pelletier be placed on leave while the claims of the lawsuit are under investigation. 

“While the allegations in the amended complaint remain unproven, they are serious in nature and involve claims of alleged criminal conduct,” said Bissen, a longtime judge before becoming mayor. “As with any such legal matter, due process must be observed, but the existence of these allegations alone presents concerns regarding public trust and the effective functioning of the department.” 

He urged the commission to conduct its own independent review and not to wait for the federal case to be resolved, which he said would “demonstrate the County’s commitment to transparency, accountability and ethical governance.” 

Stacey Moniz, chair of the Maui Police Commission, declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday. 

Maui Police Department spokesperson Alana Pico denied the allegations. 

“Chief Pelletier has no connections whatsoever to any individuals named in the lawsuit,” Pico said via email on Monday. “The allegations suggesting his involvement are entirely unfounded. We are confident that the evidence will demonstrate these claims to be false and will expose those who are deliberately trying to manipulate the legal system to spread misleading narratives.”

Parham alleges in the lawsuit that she was gang-raped by Combs, Desbordes, Beckham Jr., Shane Pearce and other unnamed defendants at Pearce’s home in Orinda, Calif., on March 23, 2018. 

Parham said she had first met Pearce at a bar a month earlier when he rescued her from an altercation with another man and then tried to impress her and others by FaceTiming Combs, who was his friend.

Parham said she was unimpressed at the time, commenting that she thought Combs had something to do with rapper Tupac Shakur’s murder, after which she heard Combs respond over the phone that she would “pay” for her comments. 

When Parham went to Pearce’s house a month later to help him with his cancer medications, she says Combs came into the home, threatened and raped, and then told others to assault her as well.

Parham said she reported the rape to Pelletier, who she said was posing as a Contra Costa sheriff. He told her that they had received several noise complaints and told her to find a way to get home.

Parham said Pelletier did not call emergency services, offer to take her home or to a hospital, or help her recover her belongings from Pearce’s home. She said she saw him hand something to a neighbor, which she believed was an envelope containing cash. 

When a local responding officer approached the house and tried to speak with John and Jane Doe, Pelletier told that officer there was a federal investigation underway and not to interfere.

In the complaint, it said Pelletier told the officer “he was working on a case for drug trafficking and had the house under surveillance and would report later to the local precinct. Defendant Pelletier referred to Plaintiffs and Plaintiff Parham as suspects and said they were homeless.”

The sheriff’s office told USA Today in a statement that it took a report on March 23, 2018 and that detectives “thoroughly investigated the accusations” and the claims were later determined to be “unfounded.”

Two other plaintiffs, a mother and son named as Jane and John Doe, said they witnessed the rape and allege that Pelletier and other law enforcement officials forcibly took them from Las Vegas to California where they witnessed the assault. 

Pelletier allegedly put a gun to John Doe’s back and told him to get into an SUV to be extradited for warrants in California. The unnamed plaintiffs said they did not have any warrants or convictions and that Pelletier refused to show them the warrants and threatened to shoot them if they kept protesting.

The plaintiffs were driven to what they believe was Pelletier’s house in Las Vegas before they were taken to several locations throughout California until they were taken to meet Combs. They said they witnessed the rape and several of the defendants involved.

John Doe said he was assaulted after refusing orders to participate in the rape, which he believed Combs wanted him to do so they could frame him. Jane Doe said she was also sexually assaulted by another defendant, Ruben Valdez. 

When asked how the plaintiffs’ legal team had determined that Pelletier was involved, Miami attorney Ariel Mitchell said via email on Monday that “right now we are not making any statements.”

Pelletier was named Maui police chief in 2021. Shortly after, he was the subject of multiple complaints from MPD staff who said he made threats toward anyone who was insubordinate; investigators found the chief likely violated policy but couldn’t substantiate all of the allegations. Last year, the commission gave Pelletier a mostly positive job evaluation.

Before becoming Maui’s police chief, in a unanimous 9-0 vote by the Maui Police Commission, Pelletier served the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for 22 years in numerous capacities, which included serving as commander of the Convention Center Area Command, which is responsible for the Las Vegas “strip.” 

In 2017, Pelletier notably served as the incident commander for the One October mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 60 people.

Pelletier earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1994 and is a 2019 FBI National Academy graduate. 

Druski and Beckham Jr. also categorically denied the allegations on social media.

Ashley Parham v Sean Combs Lawsuit by Tiffany De Masters on Scribd