Editorial: Federal eyes on Honolulu Police Department?

The U.S. Department of Justice, under the policies of the Biden administration, is more inclined to increase federal oversight of local police departments than it did under the former administration.

So a letter to the DOJ from Honolulu attorney Eric Seitz, seeking federal relief from allegedly excessive use of force by the Honolulu Police Department, is sure to get a closer look than it would have in the preceding four years.

The mere request for a federal consent decree or other form of oversight has gained the attention of the public and policymakers, and that’s helpful. HPD officials, knowing that federal intervention may be looming, should advance its recent policy reforms, such as de-escalation of police-public encounters, through better police training.

After all, Hawaii does have history with federal consent decrees being imposed, with significant impact on local government operations.

The Felix Consent Decree of the mid-1990s, named for a special-needs student, revolutionized the delivery of special education services in public schools. The ACLU of Hawaii has advocated for lessening the overcrowding of prisons, securing a consent decree in 1985. Deteriorating prison conditions again led in 2017 to the organization’s renewed call for a study of overcrowding and the appointment of a special master.

Federal authority does carry weight. In the case of HPD, however, the community cannot afford to simply wait to see if the feds will intervene, let alone leave the ball in the DOJ court.

In his letter, Seitz wrote about a lethal-force “epidemic,” citing 19 fatal shootings by police since 2015. There were this year’s fatal shootings of Lindani Myeni and Iremamber Sykap within days of each other, in April. Seitz himself is involved in four active wrongful-death complaints and four complaints of excessive use of force against HPD.

His allegations include what he sees as HPD’s over-policing of the Native Hawaiian and Micronesian communities. But the bar for winning a federal intervention, experts say, may be too high to expect action anytime soon.

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline initiative reported cities such as Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky., are at the head of the line seeking federal action — and even there, possible court orders may be years away. DOJ veterans said investigations focus on jurisdictions with a long history of abuse and an inability or unwillingness by the local agency to act.

Honolulu may not rise — or, more accurately, sink — to that level. At the very least, the city must not wait for the feds to take the reins.

Community activists have argued that systemic issues are best fixed through local action, which sounds right. Oversight should start with the Honolulu Police Commission, as the voice of the public, to see that HPD follows through on its good intentions.