The Honolulu City Council today will take up the proposed settlement of a lawsuit brought by a man who alleges a Honolulu Police Department officer used excessive force against him in Kahuku six years ago.
The amount of the settlement proposal has not yet been disclosed.
The federal lawsuit was brought by Jonah Kaahu, who alleges that five HPD officers used excessive force against him when they arrested him in August 2012 outside the Giovanni Shrimp Truck.
The complaint said Kaahu was shoveling gravel on the grounds when several men attacked him and a co-worker.
When responding police arrived and saw Kaahu, with a shovel in his hand, facing off with another man, they drew their weapons and ordered him to lie on the ground, court documents said. When Kaahu tried to explain to the officers that the other man might have a weapon, they continued to yell at him.
After one of the officers said, “Just taze these (expletive),” Kaahu started to run but then stopped after a witness to the incident told him he hadn’t done anything wrong. The officers then used excessive force against him, the complaint said, including striking him on the face and causing him to lose consciousness temporarily, hurting him as they forced him to stay on the ground, spraying him with what appeared to be pepper spray and striking the side of his head with a pair of handcuffs.
Kaahu was arrested but the case was dismissed.
The incident was captured on video with a smartphone and shown on TV news broadcasts.
Former Police Chief Louis Kealoha also was named in the lawsuit, which alleges that he “personally implemented, maintained, enforced and/or allowed the continued use of excessive force and/or exposure to pre-trial detainees to conditions amounting to severe punishment.”
Separate from the Kaahu lawsuit, the Council today will consider a request to increase the amount of money being spent to hire a special attorney to represent Kealoha in the Kaahu case. Resolution 18-89 Opens in a new tab would allow for up to $14,100 more to be paid to law firm Chung and Ikehara. The Council previously had authorized $10,000 for the firm’s defense of Kealoha.
