Twenty-nine Honolulu police officers were disciplined in 2023 in connection with 28 incidents, including covering up police pursuits that ended in crashes and acquiring parts to build a ghost gun.

Twelve police officers were “discharged,” and of those 12, two officers retired and one officer resigned before they could be formally fired. In total in 2023, 35 officers had their discipline finalized by the Honolulu Police Department.

In 2022, 22 police officers Opens in a new tab were disciplined in connection with 14 incidents. In 2021, 27 officers were disciplined for 22 incidents, and in 2020 there were 55 officers disciplined for 42 incidents.

There are more than 1,800 officers on the force, meaning the 29 officers disciplined last year make up a little more than 1% of the force.

“The Honolulu Police Department holds its officers to a high standard and thoroughly investigates all allegations of misconduct,” said Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan, in a statement to the Honolulu Star- Advertiser. “When misconduct occurs, the appropriate disciplinary action is taken. This can include, but is not limited to, suspension and discharge. We value the public’s trust and strive to maintain it on a daily basis.”

HPD’s discipline report was submitted to state lawmakers Wednesday.

The report is not required to include descriptions of the incidents that led to the policy violations, and formal requests for the rec­ords in each case must be filed with HPD to find out what details they will release to the public.

A 1995 state law requires that the “chief of each county police department shall submit to the legislature no later than January 31 of each year an annual report of misconduct incidents that resulted in suspension or discharge of a police officer.”

The reporting period of each report covers Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of the year immediately prior to the year of the report submission.

The law was amended in 2020 to include the officers’ names.

Honolulu Police Commission Chair Doug Chin, a former state attorney general and deputy prosecuting attorney, told the Star-Advertiser that the annual discipline report provides “a level of transparency to the public” regarding individual officers who have been disciplined, why they were disciplined, how long it took or is taking to finalize, and whether the initial discipline they received was reduced after a grievance proceeding.

“Every organization has its bad actors. In a department with as many officers as Honolulu, there will always be a certain number of individuals getting disciplined each year. This fact should not necessarily take away from the good works and service being done each day by the majority of the force,” Chin said. “What the Police Commission can hopefully do is spot patterns or trends based on these reports and help the Chief and his team implement best practices to minimize misconduct.”

The report is on the agenda for the commission’s next meeting on Wednesday, and the public’s feedback is welcome, Chin said.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi told the Star- Advertiser that “it is imperative that our police force upholds the highest standards.”

“Let us remember that accountability is the cornerstone of trust. We are committed to addressing any concerns raised, fostering accountability, and working collaboratively to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents,” Blangiardi said. “Preserving the public’s trust is paramount, and we are dedicated to maintaining it diligently every day.”

Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters told the Star-Advertiser that he appreciates HPD’s transparency in this report.

Transparency lauded

It is “imperative that the public trusts our officers” and that they are conducting themselves professionally and safely when serving our island, Waters said.

“This report demonstrates that HPD is working to ensure that our police force is held to a high standard,” Waters said. “Improving public safety is among my highest priorities as Chair of the City Council, and ensuring that we have the right people to enforce our laws is a necessary measure in keeping our community safe.”

Council Committee on Public Safety Chair Val Aquino Okimoto told the Star-Advertiser that she appreciates and supports the work HPD does to “keep our community safe.”

“HPD’s Disciplinary Report is a fundamental con­tribution to improving the Department’s transparency and prioritizes the safety of our public,” she said.

The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers supports a fair and transparent process to hold Honolulu police officers to the high standards expected of them by fellow officers and the residents and businesses they serve, according to a statement from the officers union.

“This report covers five years’ worth of incidents, dating back to 2017, and not all of the incidents have gone through the full process. It is important that all HPD officers are not painted with a broad brush by those listed as part of the 5-year window of activity in this report,” said SHOPO President Robert Cavaco, an HPD lieutenant. “Although we do not agree with every element contained within this annual report, we understand how critically important it is to continue to instill confidence in the law enforcement profession by supporting transparency and accountability.”

Discharges, suspensions

Officer Carl Hood was terminated after he “obtained parts from which a firearm having no serial number could be readily assembled” without having a license to manufacture a firearm.

Hood also allegedly remained in possession of a firearm, violating a temporary restraining order secured against him by his wife.

Hood also allegedly “failed to obtain a permit to acquire firearms and failed to properly register the firearms.”

According to HPD’s report, Hood was investigated on suspicion of manufacturing, purchasing or obtaining firearm parts to assemble a firearm having no serial number and being a person prohibited from possession of a firearm registration, “mandatory, exceptions.”

As of Friday, Hood had not been charged in the gun case, according to state court records.

Hood also allegedly “struck a family member and repeatedly called the family member derogatory names,” according to the report, and an assault in the second-degree case was initiated but has not yet resulted in charges, according to state court records.

In a successful July 29, 2022, TRO petition secured by Hood’s wife, she alleges, “During my relationship with Carl, I have suffered physical, emotional and psychological abuse,” as have the couple’s children.

Officers James Baik and Joseph Correia are in arbitration with HPD after they were discharged this year in connection with a car theft chase and crash case.

Both officers allegedly “failed to follow prescribed motor vehicle pursuit procedures” and did not “assess the risks” and end the high-speed pursuit of a stolen car that ended in a collision.

The officers also allegedly “failed to immediately render aid to the injured persons at the scene” of the collision and didn’t activate their body-worn cameras “during the pursuit and at the scene of the MVC (motor vehicle collision).”

The officers also allegedly “falsified and provided untruthful and misleading statements” in their police reports and during the administrative investigation to hide their involvement.

They allegedly conspired with one another to hide the chase.

Correia is also accused of being “untruthful to officers and supervisors investigating the MVC,” causing an officer to “unintentionally document a false statement” that slowed the start of the Officer Critical Incident Protocol.

The September 2021 Makaha Opens in a new tab car chase, which goes to criminal trial June 3, also resulted in discipline being handed out in 2023 to four officers.

Makaha crash probed

Officer Robert G. Lewis III, who is charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, a Class C felony, and first-degree conspiracy to commit hindering prosecution, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, was suspended in 2023 for three days.

Lewis was suspended for failing to “activate his body-worn camera (BWC) when he responded to a call for a noise complaint” and after “arriving at the scene of the motor vehicle collision” and when he interacted with a witness. Lewis also didn’t “document in his submitted report the facts and circumstances of the initial encounter with the suspect vehicle and/or the initiation of the pursuit by police officers.”

He also hid the police officers’ involvement in “the pursuit that was a proximate cause of the MVC and the officers’ involvement in fleeing from the scene.”

Officer Rommel Baysa is currently grieving a seven- day suspension, and officer Wade Thomas-Nakagawa is in grievance proceedings over a five-day suspension in connection with the 2021 Makaka chase, crash and cover-up.

Baysa and Thomas- Nakagawa failed to “make notification that officers were involved in a critical incident” and didn’t ensure that the body-worn cameras of the involved officers were promptly recovered and that the officers were promptly relieved and sequestered.

Both officers didn’t “conduct a thorough inquiry into a witness’s statement that the suspect vehicle was being pursued by police vehicles at the time of the motor vehicle collision,” and their lack of supervision of subordinate officers at the scene resulted “in an improper and/or incomplete investigation of the incident being conducted” and helped “investigating officers to conceal the police officers’ involvement in Makaha incident.”

Thomas-Nakagwa also used force “against a male at the scene and did not document it in an incident report form.”

Officer Fetia Solomon is grieving a three-day suspension she received for her role in the Makaha case.

Solomon didn’t tell “supervisors and investigators at the scene that a witness was alleging police involvement in the crash that happened after the police pursuit.”

Solomon also didn’t get a “complete and thorough statement from the witness and failed to document the witness’s statement and/or contact information in her submitted police report.”

Solomon also submitted a collision report that left out the officers’ involvement, and she covered her body-worn camera to hide an encounter with a witness.

Solomon also “concealed the police officers’ involvement in the pursuit and the officers’ involvement in fleeing from the scene.”

The administrative investigation into the incident is ongoing, and the discipline handed down in the case covers only the 2023 calendar year.

2023 Legislative Report Rel… by Honolulu Star-Advertiser