**Honolulu Police Department Faces Lawsuit for Allegedly Arresting Sober Drivers**

The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) has come under scrutiny as it plans to review its impaired driving arrests after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Hawaii filed a lawsuit. The lawsuit claims that officers have been arresting sober drivers in their aggressive pursuit of drunk-driving arrests.

According to the ACLU, Honolulu officers have, in recent years, arrested numerous drivers who displayed no signs of impairment and performed well on field sobriety tests. Often, these drivers had breath tests indicating a 0.00 blood alcohol level. The lawsuit criticizes the department's "singular focus" on securing DUI arrests, even when they do not lead to convictions.

The ACLU alleges that HPD supervisors offer incentives to night enforcement officers, such as allowing them to go home early while still being paid for a full shift after a DUI arrest. This purportedly leads officers to take investigative shortcuts and arrest individuals without probable cause, in their effort to inflate arrest numbers. The organization contends that arrest statistics are used to demonstrate public safety efforts, secure federal funding, and meet quotas.

Jeremy O'Steen, an attorney working with ACLU Hawaii on the lawsuit, stated, "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."

In response, HPD asserted that it is taking the allegations seriously and has begun a thorough review of all impaired driving arrests dating back to 2021. The department also announced an internal investigation into the cases of the three plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit mentions that from 2022 to 2024, HPD arrested 127 individuals for DUI despite breath or blood tests revealing a 0.000 blood-alcohol level. Of these, only 15 received traffic tickets, and just three were charged with driving under the influence of drugs. The ACLU lawsuit points to a pattern of stopping drivers either without any problematic driving at sobriety checkpoints or for minor traffic violations.

One of the plaintiffs, Tanner Pangan, recounted being pulled over in his truck last year after it fishtailed on a wet 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," Pangan said.

Furthermore, the ACLU raised concerns about possible quotas impacting officer behavior. The organization found arrest clusters, especially near the end of the month, hinting at quota pressures. For instance, on August 31, 2024, three arrests where breath tests showed 0.000 occurred at the same location within a span of 20 minutes.

The lawsuit requests that a judge declare HPD's arrest practices unconstitutional and unlawful, without seeking monetary damages. Meanwhile, the HPD remains committed to upholding public trust and pledges to take appropriate action if any misconduct is confirmed through their ongoing investigations.