Honolulu Police Department Sgt. Sheri Taflinger, a 20-year veteran who was in charge of a recruit class and the field training program in 2022 and 2023, has sued the HPD, alleging that she was retaliated against for reporting “pervasive discrimination, sexual harassment and sex discrimination” by male staff of the training academy.

Taflinger alleges that Lt. Bienvenido Villaflor II, Maj. Paul Okamoto and Maj. Manuel Hernandez III engaged in “whistle blower retaliation” — in part by engineering her transfer to the night watch covering West Oahu and the Waianae Coast.