US EditionA lawsuit says Honolulu police are arresting people for impaired driving even when they are sober
- On May 30, 2025, a class-action lawsuit was initiated by the ACLU of Hawai‘i accusing Honolulu police of arresting drivers without signs of intoxication or probable cause for impaired driving.
- The lawsuit arises from a series of incidents between 2022 and 2024 in which police arrested 127 individuals for suspected DUI, but subsequent breath and blood tests revealed no presence of alcohol in their system.
- Officers allegedly received incentives such as paid full shifts after one DUI arrest and took shortcuts in investigations, causing wrongful arrests at sobriety checkpoints or minor traffic stops.
- In November 2023, Plaintiff Ammon Fepuleai was taken into custody by police during a sobriety checkpoint despite having a zero blood alcohol level and successfully completing field sobriety tests, illustrating the lawsuit’s allegation of unconstitutional arrest practices.
- The Honolulu Police Department has begun examining all DUI arrests made since 2021 to detect any troubling trends and enhance their protocols, while a lawsuit aims to stop the detention of sober individuals without proper legal justification.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Honolulu police accused of arresting sober drivers to inflate DUI numbers
The Honolulu Police Department is reviewing both current and past DUI arrests after the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a class action lawsuit claiming officers wrongly took some drivers into custody. The lawsuit alleged that officers arrested sober individuals in a push to boost drunk driving stats. The ACLU accused Honolulu police of falsely arresting drivers without any probable cause or due process of the law. On May 22, the …
The Independent
The Independent (US)Police in Hawaii accused of arresting sober drivers to meet DUI quota
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
‘Stop arresting innocent people!’: Hawaii cops face lawsuit for purposeful false arrests
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii (ACLU) has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department (HPD). The lawsuit accuses HPD of repeatedly arresting sober drivers without legal justification, which is a crime. According to the lawsuit, HPD officers are making these arrests without proper evidence, motivated by a desire to increase DUI arrest numbers in order to secure funding and meet what appear to be quotas. The l…
Honolulu PD to Review DUI Arrests After ACLU Alleges Innocent Drivers Jailed
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…
Lawsuit alleges HPD made impaired driving arrests without having proof | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
A class-action lawsuit filed Thursday accuses the Honolulu Police Department of an “egregious and longstanding pattern and practice” of arresting people without probable cause or due process for allegedly driving under the influence.
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