Honolulu Cops Arrest the Innocent to Hit Quotas: Lawsuit

Honolulu police say they've launched an internal investigation following claims that they've been arresting people "without probable cause and/or without due process." The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a lawsuit in state court on Thursday, claiming officers have been unlawfully arresting sober drivers to hit DUI arrest quotas. It identified at least 127 people arrested in a two-year period despite having a blood alcohol level of 0. Ammon Fepuleai, who doesn't drink at all, was arrested in Waipi'o after blowing 0.00 on a breathalyzer, according to the suit. The arresting officer claimed he'd turned the wrong way during a sobriety test, but body-camera footage showed Fepuleai wasn't told to turn in any particular direction, per Honolulu Civil Beat.

Almost 90% of those arrested were never charged with a crime, according to the suit. "It's really about stopping this pattern and practice within the department of making these very shoddy and unconstitutional arrests," Wookie Kim, a legal director at ACLU of Hawaii, tells Civil Beat. The group noticed clusters of DUI arrests at the end of each month and believes officers were encouraged to meet a quota, per the Washington Post. They also encouraged drivers to refuse blood or urine tests, "sometimes by saying they'll have to stay in jail overnight to get one," without informing them that refusing a chemical test is considered a legal admission of intoxication, senior staff attorney Emily Hills tells the Post.

The suit claims a high number of DUI arrests helps the department secure federal highway safety grants. Individual officers also receive incentives. For instance, they may be allowed to end their shift early with full pay. After Fepuleai's arrest at a police sobriety checkpoint, the checkpoint was shut down early, the suit claims, per the Post. The Honolulu Police Department says it takes the claims "very seriously" and is now looking into all impaired-driving arrests dating back to 2021. "We are dedicated to upholding public trust and will take appropriate action should any misconduct be found," it says. (More police officers stories.)