Other States Have Tough Police Standards Boards. Hawaii’s Is Still Struggling … Almost every other state has professional staff and funding dedicated to overseeing law enforcement. Hawaii has neither.
The Honolulu Police Department tried to fire Ofc. Brent Sylvester in 2016 after he allegedly drove drunk, rear ended a vehicle causing injury to its occupants, fled the scene, and then refused to submit to a blood test.
An Oahu District Court dismissed a criminal case against Sylvester after the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office failed to produce the complaining witnesses.
In 2019, Ofc. Christopher Finley of Caldwell, Idaho, found himself in a similar situation when he got drunk one day and hit a parked car with his police vehicle. He ultimately pleaded guilty to striking an unattended vehicle, a misdemeanor.
