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JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER / Associated Press
Former Honolulu police officer Reginald Ramones, right, walks along Punchbowl Street today. Ramones has pleaded guilty to failing to report that another police officer forced a homeless man to lick a public urinal.
One of two Honolulu police officers accused of forcing a homeless man’s face into a urinal pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court this afternoon to failing to report the crime.
Reginald Ramones, 43, faces a prison term of up to three years when he is sentenced in February. In exchange for his guilty plea and promise to testify against the other officer, however, the government will recommend probation.
A federal grand jury indicted Ramones and John Rabago in April on charges accusing them of conspiring to violate the constitutional rights of the homeless man and using their position as police officers to deprive the man of his rights.
The government has promised to drop the charges against Ramones at sentencing.
Rabago is scheduled to stand trial in March. He remains with the Honolulu Police Department but is on restricted duty.
Ramones resigned in August.
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