Sixty-seven island police officers — including 37 from the Honolulu Police Department — were disciplined last year, along with 15 officers who were fired across the state. HPD terminated six of its disciplined officers.
The details of each department’s disciplinary actions against their officers is cryptic, including identifying information about each officer, but still disturbing in many cases.
Only Maui County’s annual report to the state Legislature provides the months in 2019 when two of its officers violated policies that led both of them to be fired.
Some of HPD’s officers were fired for incidents in 2019 involving drugs and alcohol that sometimes involved crashes — or for covering up for other officers’ use of intoxicants while driving.
Some of the incidents are well known, such when HPD officer John Rabago pleaded guilty in federal court in December to forcing a homeless man to lick a public urinal rather than face Opens in a new tabarrest Opens in a new tab.
In its disciplinary report to the Legislature, HPD used passive language and said in a one-sentence summary that Rabago — who was unidentified in the report — “Failed to take appropriate action and failed to report the incident when an individual was forced to lick a urinal.” Rabago was fired.
One HPD officer was fired after testing positive for an undisclosed drug during a mandatory drug test. Another was fired after crashing a subsidized HPD vehicle while under the influence, lying about it to investigators at the scene of the crash and continuing to lie throughout the investigation, according to HPD’s disciplinary report released Monday.
Another HPD officer was fired for engaging in “sexual activity while on duty and under the color of police authority,” and another was fired after rear-ending another vehicle while the officer drove a subsidized HPD vehicle while under the influence.
A sixth HPD officer was fired after staging a burglary at his home, burning his vehicle and trying to collect an insurance payment on the fraudulent claim and also filing a false police report. It was one of only two out of 37 disciplinary reports to the Legislature where HPD identified an officer by gender.
One HPD police supervisor was suspended for five days for failing “to lead and direct a thorough investigation at the scene of a motor vehicle collision involving an HPD officer” and “Failed to provide the Traffic Division with accurate information about injuries to the officer involved in the motor vehicle collision at the scene,” among other failures of the crash investigation.
Two other officers were disciplined following similar actions that could be related to the same traffic investigation involving an HPD officer:
One officer also was suspended for five days because the officer “Failed to remain impartial and did not conduct a thorough investigation of a motor vehicle collision involving an HPD officer,” among other shortcomings. Another officer received a written reprimand after the officer also “Failed to conduct a thorough investigation of a motor vehicle collision involving an HPD officer.”
Other HPD disciplinary actions included:
>> An officer who was suspended for 15 days for being “unprofessional and overbearing” for swearing at a complainant and her passengers and then ordering the passengers “to exit the vehicle and walk home.”
>> A one-day suspension for an officer who “made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature to a coworker.”
>> Another one-day suspension for an officer who “Grabbed and pushed an individual against a door. Failed to provide badge number upon request. Failed to submit a report for the physical encounter with the individual.”
>> A three-day suspension after a supervisor “Displayed material of a sexual nature to subordinate officers.”
Hawaii County’s police department disciplined 13 officers and fired five of them, including:
>> An officer who made “unwanted physical contact with a juvenile female,” bringing “disrepute to himself and the department,” used his “personal vehicle to transport female juveniles while on duty” and used his personal vehicle while on patrol.
>> An officer who pushed a 5-year-old child and struck and assaulted his spouse.
>> An officer who used a nondepartment-issued firearm while on duty and failed to report discharging his weapon.
Kauai County disciplined five officers and fired two of them: One who was convicted of drunk driving, and another who conducted “personal business on duty and abused federally funded grant overtime.”
Two other Kauai officers were suspended for unspecified periods for similar incidents: One cheated on a test to be transferred to an unidentified “specialized unit,” and another “conspired to conceal cheating on test for transfer to specialized unit.” The fifth officer who was disciplined on Kauai “created a hostile work environment for a subordinate.”
Maui County provided little information about the two officers it disciplined in 2019. Both were fired.
One, according to Maui County’s report to the Legislature, was “involved in four separate administrative investigations within a 12-month period, with disciplinary action imposed in each of the four cases.”
The other involved an officer who was fired for “Attempted perjury, attempted hindering prosecution, tampering with a witness.”
BY THE NUMBERS
>> 67: Number of isle police officers disciplined in 2019
>> 15: Number of officers who were fired
>> 37: Number of Honolulu Police Department officers who were disciplined, including six who were fired
>> 13: Number of Hawaii County police officers who were disciplined, including five who were fired
>> 5: Number of Kauai police officers who were disciplined, including two who were fired
>> 2: Number of Maui police officers who were disciplined; both were fired
Source: 2019 police disciplinary reports to the state Legislature from the four isle counties
