Probe ongoing in 10 likely felony charges against officers

Only five of the 24 officers named in the Honolulu Police Department’s 2022 disciplinary report as facing possible criminal prosecution between 2017 and 2022 have been charged, according to a review of state court records.

Among those not yet charged by city prosecutors are seven police officers under investigation for second-­degree assault for the alleged beating of a detainee. An officer accused of felony terroristic threatening of a family member and another who allegedly committed the same offense while dealing with a complainant also have not been charged.

Misdemeanor cases referred to prosecutors but for which no charges have been filed include allegations of tampering with a government record by falsifying documents for a federal grant application, possession of dangerous drugs by an officer who allegedly disposed of stolen evidence, and endangering the welfare of a minor after an officer reportedly left his toddler in a locked car.

Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm would not say whether his office has decided to pursue criminal charges against any of the police officers suspected in the 10 potential felony cases outlined in the HPD report. Alm told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement that his office has a policy of not confirming or denying whether a person, police officer or otherwise, is under investigation.

“The reason is that if we decide not to bring charges, we will not have prejudiced that person with any bad publicity,” he said.

State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers President Robert Cavaco told the Star-Advertiser in a statement that every officer, “just like every citizen,” should be afforded “a fair process, where all the facts are examined, and decisions are made based solely on those facts.”

“We trust in that process and advocate to ensure it’s adhered to. It’s important to remember that the number of officers identified here represents a small fraction of the nearly 2,000 officers who work daily to keep our community safe and the cases date back over five years,” Cavaco said.

The 24 officers in question and a description of the criminal cases initiated against them are listed in the department’s 2022 Legislative Disciplinary Report.

Alm said prosecutors review each case referred to them by HPD to decide whether to bring criminal charges. “In rare cases, such as officer-involved shootings,” he said, prosecutors will look at the evidence turned over by police and conduct their own investigation.

Police operate under a “probable cause” standard for making arrests, meaning that the facts and circumstances known to the police officer would lead a “reasonable person to believe” that a suspect has committed, is committing or is attempting to commit a crime, according to Alm. “This standard is lower than a preponderance of the evidence standard (more likely than not).

“As prosecutors, we have to answer two questions in the affirmative in regard to every case,” he said. “First, do we believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the facts and circumstances, that the suspect committed a crime or crimes? Second, do we have admissible evidence to prove that case beyond a reasonable doubt? The answer to these two questions may not always be the same.”

Based on the initial conferral with HPD, prosecutors may be able to answer “yes” to both questions and bring charges against a suspect. In other cases, more investigative followup by HPD may be needed.

“Once completed, we will make the final determination on whether to bring charges or not, and, if so, what charges to bring,” Alm said.

Acting Honolulu Police Chief Keith Horikawa, in a statement to the Star-­Advertiser, urged patience in letting the investigative process play out in a fair and complete manner. He also emphasized the stressful nature of police work, in which officers “must make split-second decisions in potentially life-threatening circumstances.”

“While some of the criticism is appropriate and expected, there are other times when public opinion is steered by partial or edited information released by the media or posted on social media,” Horikawa said. “The reality is that a thorough investigation takes time and is based on more than several seconds of video.”

The acting chief also asked the public to continue supporting “the 99% of our officers who are doing their best and bravest to protect our community.”

Of the five cases that resulted in criminal charges against HPD officers, four involved misdemeanors, and one was a Class C felony subject to a possible five-year prison term upon conviction.

The felony case involved then-officer Zachary Pang, who was subsequently fired by HPD.

On Aug. 31, 2018, Pang, an HPD detective who worked part time for Security Industry Specialists Inc. as a private security officer, was at his side job at the Apple Store in Waikiki, according to state court records. The store was closed and being cleaned when Pang entered the stockroom and reportedly stuffed $4,596 worth of merchandise into his backpack and left the store unattended before returning “a short time later with an empty backpack,” the rec­ords state.

The next day, Apple Store managers saw footprints on the freshly cleaned floor and contacted the cleaning company. A representative for the cleaning company insisted the floor had been cleaned and waxed.

A review of the store’s surveillance video showed Pang “removing merchandise from the stockroom shelves and placing them into his backpack,” according to court records. The Apple Store reported the incident to Security Industry Specialists, which in turn filed a police report.

After initially pleading not guilty to second-degree theft, Pang agreed to a “deferred acceptance” of his no-contest plea and was placed on conditions similar to probation for four years. In February 2022 he requested to have the period of his deferral end early, and the case was dismissed that same month by Oahu Circuit Judge Trish Morikawa, according to court records.

Another case pressed by prosecutors involved allegations of domestic violence against Michael Rourke that led to charges of abuse of a household member and third-degree criminal property damage.

On July 9, 2019, Rourke was charged with physically abusing his then-girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint filed in February 2020. He was also charged with intentionally causing more than $500 worth of damage to the woman’s property.

Against the state’s objection, the case was eventually dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could refile the charges at a later date. The reason: The complaint against Rourke was not signed by the complaining witness or an investigating officer and did not contain a declaration or affidavit with a statement of facts by the complaining witness or investigating officer.

The Hawaii Supreme Court issued an opinion in December 2021 making it clear that under Hawaii Revised Statutes 805-1, prosecutors are required to ensure that a criminal complaint is supported by either the complainant’s signature or a declaration submitted in lieu of an affidavit.

So far, the charges against Rourke have not been refiled, and he has filed a grievance over his termination by HPD.

Another HPD officer, Tyler Kerch, was initially fired and charged with misdemeanor tampering with a government record after he allegedly “falsified his submitted police reports” and didn’t prepare and submit a property receipt, didn’t activate his body-worn camera, didn’t document the omission and failed to immediately notify his supervisor, according to the HPD disciplinary report.

Kerch also was accused of revealing his confidential departmental password to another officer.

The case title has since been redacted from state court records, and “confidential and not public record at this time” is the prompt that comes up when trying to view the case record online, so the outcome of the criminal charge against Kerch is not available. Law enforcement officials declined to respond to questions about his case.

Kerch filed a union grievance over his termination, which was reduced to a 20-day suspension, according to the HPD disciplinary report.

Dorian Soto was fired by HPD and referred to prosecutors for possible charges for allegedly operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant and crashing into another vehicle on New Year’s Eve 2020, according to state court records. Soto also “failed to comply with traffic regulations when he operated his motor vehicle while holding and/or using a mobile electronic device with no legal exemption to do so,” according to the HPD report.

State court records show Soto was charged with driving under the influence by mental impairment, entered a no-contest plea and paid $412 in fines and fees. Soto’s judgment was complete Oct. 28.

Soto, too, is contesting his termination through the grievance process.

In the fifth case involving criminal charges against an HPD officer, Gilbert Lanai pleaded no contest to misdemeanor false reporting to law enforcement authorities after he operated his police vehicle in an unsafe manner and failed to activate his body-worn camera or document the omission during a Sept. 19, 2019, incident. The department also accused Lanai of lying to Professional Standard Office investigators.

Court records show Lanai was granted a deferred acceptance his no-contest plea, paid $430 in fines and fees, and adhered by conditions similar to probation for six months. He completed his obligations to the state in October 2021.

The most serious of the uncharged cases involves allegations against seven police officers who are facing possible second-degree assault charges stemming from an alleged assault of a detainee.

According to the 2022 Legislative Disciplinary Report, Thomas-John Kaanana and Judah Kekua allegedly used “excessive and/or unreasonable force while assisting with grabbing or restraining a detainee in an effort to remove the detainee’s clothes without justification” and struck the detainee “without justification,” causing bodily injury.

Both officers also allegedly failed “to intervene and take appropriate action upon witnessing the detainee being assaulted or subjected to unreasonable force by other officers,” and Kaanana was additionally accused of falsifying his police report on the incident.

Kaanana and Kekua were both fired by HPD but have pending union grievances.

HPD also initiated second-degree assault investigations for the same incident against officers Rayden Casamina, Ian Rosario, Eric Reis, Cole Dante and Sean Kim. All five officers were suspended for 10 days, and their grievances over the punishment are pending, although Kim resigned prior to suspension, the disciplinary report said.

HPD forwarded their investigations of all seven officers to city prosecutors, but so far none have been formally charged.

A second incident involving an alleged beating of a prisoner also did not result in criminal charges.

According to the disciplinary report, Corey Morgan has a pending grievance over his termination from HPD after allegedly using excessive and/or unreasonable force when he “pushed a handcuffed arrestee head first into a shelving unit and struck him in the face without justification,” causing injuries.

A second-degree assault case was initiated by HPD but was not forwarded to prosecutors, according to the report.

HPD did not initiate a criminal case against officer Matthew Ogoshi, who was terminated for allegedly not stopping the attack and trying to cover it up, the report said. His grievance also is pending.