Police brutality, illegal arrest, cover-up claimed

[Chunkster]

According to Hawaii News Now, Hilo resident Daniel Harris is suing the Hawaii County Police for beating him and wrongly arresting him in 2015. He also claims that there was a cover-up and that he was told not to file a complaint with the Police Commission. Read about it here:

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/36380...over-it-up

[birdmove]

Read the article. The cops who did this should be let go. And, I have never said anything but good about our police. But, there are some bad cops, just like there are some bad forklift drivers. There is a nationwide abhorence of firing cops.

Jon in Keaau/HPP

[leilaniguy]

What has to be has to be. The bad apples have to be nailed and washed away. No room for this. The judicial system needs an overall douche.

[Chunkster]

The most disturbing part for me was the allegation that Harris was discouraged by an official clerk from filing a complaint with the Police Commission because it would be "a bad idea." When the watchdog for a critical public safety organization not only is ineffective, but warns people of retaliation for complaining, there are much deeper problems than a couple of bad cops.

[PaulW]

Does anyone know the names of the officers involved?

[TomK]

As far as I can tell, the names haven't been released.

[Hunt Stoddard]

I've wondered whether the current trend in bad relations between cops and community was ever going to come to the islands. Perhaps it's already on Oahu. Hopefully not. There is true animosity between the police and citizens on the mainland, built by decades of bad cop behavior. Trust me, I was there to experience some of it. The chickens have come home to roost. It's truly in the best interest of the police to stop and correct it before it begins. It's hard to regain trust after it's been lost.

[TomK]

A couple of my senior colleagues had a meeting with the new police chief here, Ferreira. Their impression was much improved compared to what they thought about their previous interactions with Kubojiri. I hope his tenure works out well.

[oink]

I'll be the first to admit that there are some bad cops that need to go. That happens everywhere and will always be an issue as you just can't screen out all potential bad apples beforehand. I'll also agree that from the information provided in the article it appears there could be some serious issues, both unfortunate mistakes and possibly intended offences. However, based solely on the information presented in the article it would be a very big mistake to come to any conclusions as to what happened.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Bullwinkle]

Good advice from a better friend ......"be wary of the police - they by training, see everyone as a suspect"

good to remember if ever interacting with a police person