Hawaii lawmakers have passed a bill that will end an unusual exemption in state law that allowed police to have sex with prostitutes.
Police still will be permitted to solicit sex in the course of their investigations. But House Bill 1926, if enacted into law by the governor’s signature, will make sexual penetration and sadomasochistic abuse against prostitutes by police officers a crime.
Members of the House and the Senate passed the bill unanimously Tuesday.
Earlier in the session Honolulu police lobbied successfully to keep the exemption. The House amended the bill after police testimony, keeping the exemption.
Media coverage called attention to the change. A Senate committee responded with another amendment, which removed the exemption.
Honolulu police dropped their opposition to the change. The police insist their officers do not have sex with prostitutes and would be disciplined if they did.
Police held a news conference Tuesday to address allegations of officer misconduct made by the lawyer for a woman arrested for prostitution during a massage parlor sting.
Attorney Myles Breiner alleged a vice officer engaged in police misconduct prior to the Feb. 19 arrest of a 42-year-old woman at a Keeaumoku Street massage parlor.
Breiner is seeking a dismissal of the case, which was heard Tuesday in Honolulu District Court.
Breiner, in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, alleged the officer sexually assaulted the woman when he allowed her to fondle him and also alleged the woman’s diamond necklace was stolen.
She has not filed a complaint against the officer. HPD said it conducted an investigation and found no misconduct on the part of the officer.
The officer recounted his actions in his report on the sting operation, acknowledging there was fondling.
Police denied the officer engaged in any misconduct, and said the sting operation involved multiple officers. Police also said Breiner erroneously has stated that an officer who assisted in the arrest was off duty.
