A lawsuit says Honolulu police are arresting people for impaired driving
even when they are sober
[May 30, 2025]
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu Police Department said it will review all
impaired driving arrests after the American Civil Liberties Union of
Hawaii filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging officers are arresting sober
drivers in an overzealous focus on making drunk-driving arrests.
In recent years Honolulu officers have arrested “scores” of drivers who
show no outward signs of impairment, perform well on field sobriety
tests and whose breath tests often show no alcohol, the lawsuit said.
The department is driven by a “singular focus” on getting arrests for
driving under the influence, even if they don't result in convictions,
the ACLU said.
Supervisors give officers incentives, including telling night
enforcement officers they can go home and still get paid for an entire
shift if they make a DUI arrest, which results in officers taking
investigative shortcuts or making arrests without probable cause, the
ACLU said.
Police are attempting to show that officers are protecting the public,
using arrest numbers to secure federal funding and to meet quotas, the
organization said.
“Each of our clients blew a 0.000. None of them were intoxicated. Yet
they endured lasting damage to their records, their reputation,
traumatic arrests, and unlawful detention,” said Jeremy O’Steen, an
attorney with a firm that is working on the lawsuit with ACLU Hawaii.
“What we are demanding today is simple: Stop arresting innocent people.
Stop manipulating the system.”
In response, the department said in a statement that it “takes these
allegations very seriously,” and officials have “initiated a
comprehensive review of all impaired driving arrests dating back to
2021.”
The ACLU said they became aware of the issue thanks to an investigation
by Hawaii News Now reporter Lynn Kawano.
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This photo shows the entrance of the Honolulu Police Department in
Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Marina Riker, File)
The class-action lawsuit is on behalf of three plaintiffs who were
arrested and represents hundreds of other drivers. The lawsuit is
asking a judge to declare that the Honolulu Police Department's
practices are unconstitutional and unlawful. It doesn't seek
monetary damages.
In addition to the ongoing review, the cases of the three plaintiffs
will be internally investigated, police said: “We are dedicated to
upholding public trust and will take appropriate action should any
misconduct be found.”
From 2022 through 2024, Honolulu police arrested 127 people who had
a blood-alcohol content level of 0.000 after a breath or blood test
for driving under the influence, according to the lawsuit. Only 15
people were given a traffic ticket, and only three people were
charged with driving under the influence of drugs, the lawsuit said.
Honolulu police's “pattern” has been to stop drivers either without
any problematic driving at a sobriety checkpoint or for minor
traffic infractions, the lawsuit said.
Tanner Pangan was a high school senior when an officer pulled him
over last year after his truck fishtailed on a rain-slicked road.
“When I got pulled over and accused of drinking and driving ... I
was kind of stunned because I don't drink, I don't do drugs,
nothing,” he told reporters during a virtual news conference.
It was his first time being arrested or pulled over.
ACLU Hawaii is concerned there are quotas that officers are trying
to meet. In looking at arrest statistics, the ACLU found a cluster
of arrests at the end of the month. On Aug. 31, 2024, there were
three arrests where a breath test showed 0.000 at the same location
about 20 minutes of each other, the ACLU said.
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