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The Circuit Court trial of a Honolulu Police Department officer, charged with misdemeanor assault after being recorded on cellphone video allegedly throwing a Palolo man to the ground, will begin the week of Sept. 21.
Siave Seti Jr., 29, is charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He allegedly injured the Palolo Valley man in an incident on Feb. 24.
Seti, who was not in Circuit Court for his re-arraignment Thursday, has demanded a jury trial and the case will be heard by Circuit Court Judge Christine Kuriyama. His attorney entered a plea of not guiltiy.
Seti, who has been on the police force for two years, was placed on restricted duty after he was charged with assault on July 31. The misdemeanor offense is punishable by a maximum jail sentence of one year and a $2,000 fine.
The case is being handled by the attorney general’s office.
Hawaii News Now reported in March it had obtained a video of the man being thrown to the ground and Seti trying to grab the cellphone from a witness, even though he did not have a search warrant or a subpoena for the phone.
