Hawaii Judge Blocks Police Union Attempt To Keep Cop Misconduct Secret…SHOPO has filed a series of legal challenges meant to undermine a new law that makes officers’ disciplinary files a matter of public record.
Hawaii’s police union has lost its first legal battle in an ongoing fight to keep officer misconduct records hidden from public view.
On Friday, First Circuit Judge Dean Ochiai ruled that when a police officer is suspended or fired for misconduct such information is a matter of public record under state law.
Ochiai specifically cited Act 47, which was signed by Hawaii Gov. David Ige in September. The legislation eliminated a decades old exemption in the public records law that effectively kept information about officer misconduct confidential except in the rare circumstances that resulted in discharge or termination.
