The Maui prosecutor has decided not to file charges against a Maui police officer accused of promising women to help them with their pending criminal cases in exchange for sex.
Brandon Saffeels showed up Thursday morning for his first court appearance on tampering with a witness, attempted perjury and attempting to hinder prosecution, but was told his case was not on the calendar, said Victor Bakke, Saffeels’ lawyer.
Thursday’s initial court appearance was scheduled when Saffeels, 34, posted $50,000 bail after he was arrested exactly one month ago.
Bakke said he checked with the Maui Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, which told him the department declined prosecution. That allowed Saffeels to get back the $50,000 bail.
He said the department didn’t provide a reason why it decided not to file charges, “But our belief is that the prosecutor had enough time to review the case and realized that the witness wasn’t credible and it didn’t have evidence to file charges.”
Bakke said the prosecutor did say, however, that federal authorities may be looking into the allegations against Saffeels. If that’s true, then Saffeels would have already been charged in federal court, he said.
Michael Green, who represents two women accusing Saffeels of accosting them said, “Don’t break out the champagne.”
He said with the text messages the women received from Saffeels, saved and turned over to authorities, there’s no way Saffeels is walking away without any charges.
One of the women says that after Saffeels arrested her for DUI at 3 a.m., he invited her to his house later that morning and told her to bring a change of clothes. She said Saffeels told her he would give false testimony in her trial to undermine her prosecution in exchange for sex.
Green said another woman started receiving inappropriate text messages from Saffeels after the officer responded to a call accusing her of assault.
Saffeels’ fellow Maui police officers arrested him at Kahului Airport on Aug. 26 when he got off a flight arriving on Maui. The Maui Police Department put the four-year MPD veteran on leave without pay and restricted his police powers.
Following the arrest, the Maui police chief said in a video posted on the MPD’s Facebook page that he is disappointed by reports of inappropriate conduct and abuse of authority by one of his officers that have devastated the community. He also said his department was conducting administrative and criminal investigations.
