Investigators with the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and a deputy prosecutor are looking into evidence turned over by Honolulu police following the criminal investigation of an
alleged beating of a 25-
year-old man by 10 to 12 officers on Jan. 1, 2024.
More than a year after Tevita Cadiente, 25, was hit with a van and beaten with fists and rifle stocks, no arrests have been made, no charges filed and no administrative discipline handed out.
The alleged assault of Cadiente occurred while police were engaged in an islandwide chase of attempted murder suspect Sidney Tafokitau Opens in a new tab, 44.
Tafokitau had told family he would never go back to prison and was shot 23 times and killed by police after he opened fire and wounded two officers on University Avenue that day.
Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm declined a
Honolulu Star-Advertiser request for an interview.
Christine M. Denton, special counsel to Alm, told the Star Advertiser that the department would “not be commenting on this case at the moment as it is currently being investigated by our office.”
“We hope to have a conclusion to that investigation in the near future,” Denton said.
Investigators with the department and a deputy prosecutor are looking at the evidence turned over by HPD.
The federal civil suit against the city brought by Cadiente and his father, Vaokehekehe Mataele, 49, is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 2 before U.S. District Judge Micah W.J. Smith.
Attorneys have suggested the case could be delayed Opens in a new tab until 2026.
“We’re proceeding to take depositions of HPD officers who were on the scene who we believe
may have valuable information to share about what transpired at about 4:15 p.m. on University
Avenue on Jan. 1, 2024,” said Michael D. Rudy, an attorney representing the father and son.
Rudy and the city entered into a stipulated protective order Sept. 5 to keep confidential all documents “relating to HPD investigation(s), complaint(s), policies and/or procedure(s), disciplinary action(s), interview(s), polygraph examination(s), report(s), and personnel records of various HPD officers.”
“Not withstanding any challenge to the designation of material as Confidential Information, all documents shall be treated as such,” according to the order, which notes provisions and exceptions for making discovery material in the civil suit part of the public court record.
On Dec. 4, Alm told
reporters that police
finished a criminal investigation into the beating of a father and son by officers pursuing an attempted murder suspect who was later killed in a shootout with officers on University Avenue.
Cadiente suffered a facial fracture, a traumatic subconjunctival hemorrhage, a concussion, orthopedic knee injuries, cognitive impairment including memory loss and confusion, and vision loss.
Mataele was allegedly restrained by officers while his son was beaten.
Police and prosecutors haven’t said when HPD concluded its criminal investigation and forwarded the findings to prosecutors.
On Dec. 4, Alm said no determination had been made on whether to charge the officers with crimes in connection with the injuries to Cadiente and Mataele.
Cadiente, who knew
Tafokitau from the same church, attempted twice
in 60 seconds to call him
to tell him to surrender,
according to the civil
complaint.
The lawsuit describes the father and son standing unarmed with their hands up before a black police van climbed the curb and ran Cadiente into a chain-link fence.
The lawsuit alleges that officers pulled Cadiente out from under the van and beat him in the head. About 10 to 12 officers used their hands and the blunt ends of their weapons to hit Cadiente, the suit alleges.
The Honolulu Police Department’s Professional Standards Office is conducting an administrative investigation of the officers involved to determine whether department policies and procedures were violated.
PSO investigators questioned Mataele and Cadiente twice. The father and son were interviewed once by detectives conducting the criminal investigation.
