A Honolulu police officer accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend used his position of authority to intimidate her into keeping silent about his ongoing abuse, the victim told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday.
An Oahu grand jury indicted officer Danson Cappo on Jan. 28 on a second-degree theft charge, two counts of third-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree criminal property damage.
According to prosecutors, Cappo was at a nightclub on March 15 when he choked a man until the man lost consciousness on the dance floor. The man had been dancing with Cappo’s ex-girlfriend.
Cappo then took the 22-year-old woman into his car and threw her cellphone out of the vehicle, prosecutors said. He allegedly assaulted her that night.
He faces trial in April in connection with the assaults on both the ex-girlfriend and the man in the nightclub. He has posted $20,000 bail.
Cappo has been an officer for two years. His police powers have been restricted, a Honolulu Police Department spokeswoman said.
The ex-girlfriend, who requested anonymity, said Cappo started abusing her soon after they began dating in March 2013. Their relationship continued until February 2014.
The woman, a Miss Hawaii USA contestant in November, said she hopes her story helps other victims who are afraid to speak up because their abuser is a police officer.
During the relationship, Cappo gave her a black eye, held his service weapon to her head and said he wanted to kill her, and lurked outside her house at 2 a.m., the woman said.
Even after she stopped answering his calls, Cappo consistently called and sent text messages and pictures of them together.
The woman said she didn’t call police right away because Cappo told her that she wouldn’t be believed over a police officer.
The woman finally called police after Cappo allegedly slashed her tires in November 2013.
She praised the officers who responded to that and the March 2014 incidents, saying they were professional and recommended she file a temporary restraining order against Cappo.
In July the woman was granted a five-year temporary restraining order which also requires that Cappo surrender his firearms.
Star-Advertiser reporter Nelson Daranciang contributed to this report.
