The enormous legal settlement reached with the driver of a car that crashed during a Honolulu Police Department pursuit is one of the largest the city has paid out in a police case. And it’s almost certain to have an impact that taxpayers will feel, at least to some degree.

The city has agreed to pay $12.5 million to the driver, 38-year-old Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati, due to the traumatic brain injury he suffered in September 2021 in the crash in Makaha. Perkins-Sinapati and others in his car were allegedly being chased at high speed by police officers who did not use their sirens or blue lights. The truly shameful allegation was that after the crash, the Honolulu police officers left the scene and then later returned without acknowledging their part in the incident.

The settlement amount was large, set through mediation as compensation because Perkins-Sinapati is permanently disabled from working ever again. But it is also noteworthy because it signals a lapse in police protocol, and the ongoing need to sharpen the HPD adherence to performance standards through training reinforcement.

It would be the largest recent payout, if approved as required by the Honolulu City Council, but it’s not the only episode of current concern. There is one more litigant still seeking an award in this Makaha incident — four others recently settled with the city for $4.5 million — and there are other cases involving questionable HPD actions in the queue.

One major one: A male bystander whom police had believed was a possible suspect in the New Year’s Day chase and shootout sued the city on Jan. 16. Tevita Cadiente alleged in the complaint that officers hit him with a car before beating him on Jan. 1. The actual suspect, Sidney Tafokitau, was located nearby; when he opened fire, wounding two officers, police shot and killed him.

And on Dec. 28, two Crime Reduction Unit (CRU) officers, who said they were using information from a preliminary investigation, used force to arrest a man believed to have been operating a stolen moped at the Ala Moana Center parking lot. The man suffered injuries to his torso and face, police said.

After being seen by paramedics and later taken to the hospital, he was found to have fractures to multiple ribs and in his face. He left the hospital hours later for reasons police said were unknown, and was found dead in his home Jan. 10. An internal HPD investigation was reclassified as manslaughter and is ongoing, police said.

These cases are part of a pattern in which police actions have led to unforeseen consequences.

The city does seek to anticipate such problems by allowing for settlements in its budgeting process, said City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, who chairs the Council’s Executive Matters/Legal Affairs Committee. It’s not always enough, however.

“The city does have liability insurance,” Dos Santos-Tam said in a written response to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser inquiry on Tuesday. “But very large settlements will exceed that, and start eating into the Judgement, Settlements, and Losses Fund, which was appropriated $18 million last year.

“In last year’s budget, COR (the Department of Corporation Counsel) asked for $20 million and we cut it down to $18 million,” he added. “But we need to be wary with these big settlements that we don’t go beyond that, (because) then monies need to be moved around.”

Of course, “moved around” means that some part of city service could end up with lowered funds to make up the difference.

This outcome must be avoided, wherever possible. Police Chief Joe Logan should equip more officers, including the CRU unit, with body cameras, to enhance oversight. And training for the rank-and-file patrols should reinforce a more measured approach to the use of force in encounters with the public.

The fact that the public could pay a high price in settlements for poor performance makes these tragic cases even worse.