Honolulu police officer Vincent Morre admitted Tuesday in U.S. District Court that he used his authority as a police officer to assault two patrons of an illegal gambling house.
Morre, 37, pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving the constitutional rights of a person while acting under color of law.
The nine-year Honolulu Police Department veteran dodged reporters after his court hearing.
His lawyer, David Hayakawa, said Morre waived indictment and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity without the benefit of a plea agreement to stand up and take responsibility for his actions. He said Morre is also resigning from the Police Department.
"He feels terrible about the impact this has had on his brother and sister officers and the message it sends in this time when people question police," Hayakawa said.
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha said, "Officer Morre has taken responsibility for his actions and will now be held accountable for them. This incident does not reflect on the good work that’s done every day by our officers."
Morre faces a maximum 10-year prison term for each count plus mandatory restitution at sentencing in August.
Hayakawa said that while it is possible that Morre could get probation, "I cannot conceive of that happening, with any judge." He said Morre is facing a significant amount of time behind bars.
Morre told U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang that he was working as a member of an HPD plainclothes Crime Reduction Unit when he entered Doc’s game room on Sept. 5 looking for a forgery suspect.
Doc’s is on Hopaka Street behind McKinley Car Wash.
The FBI says Morre and two other officers went to the game room on a tip that the suspect was there. The officers searched Doc’s but didn’t find the suspect.
Morre said, "I lost my temper, kicked and slapped two males, and as I was leaving threw a chair that struck one of the males."
Myles Breiner is the lawyer for the two victims. He said the chair opened a gash on the head of one of the victims that required three staples to close. He said the incident could have been avoided had higher-ups at HPD taken action to address prior similar behavior by Morre.
"They’ve been aware of his behavioral problems for a long time. There were complaints about him. People have come forward who said he’s notorious for this. Other officers have expressed concern over his actions," Breiner said.
HPD had no comment on whether there were complaints about Morre from citizens or other officers.
Breiner said security video from Doc’s shows the two men bow their heads when Morre enters the game room. He said everybody in the game room cowered in front of Morre because they had had similar experiences with him before.
He said HPD encourages or at least tolerates this kind of behavior by members of its Crime Reduction Units. "Otherwise, (Morre) wouldn’t have operated with such impunity," Breiner said.
The department said it suspended Morre and another officer, a 14-year HPD veteran who entered Doc’s with Morre, after it learned of the assaults. After the two finished their suspensions, HPD placed them on restricted duty. The other person who entered the game room with them was a reserve officer who resigned in October.
