A Honolulu police detective has been charged with drunken driving and lying to fellow officers in connection with a one-car crash in Hawaii Kai in November.

City prosecutors have charged Albert F. Lee with operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant and false reporting to law enforcement officers.

Lee, a 21-year HPD veteran, was off duty when his subsidized sport utility vehicle crashed into a Hawaiian Electric Co. switching vault on Lunalilo Home Road near Kaiser High School on Nov. 17. The early-morning crash cut off electricity to about 1,700 HECO customers.

When responding officers arrived, Lee told them he was a passenger in the vehicle and that the actual driver had left.

An HPD spokeswoman said the department took away Lee’s police powers shortly after the crash and placed him on desk duty.

Defense lawyer Megan Kau said Lee is not guilty and will fight the charges. She said he looks forward to his day in court.