By James Cave
A video recorded on New Years Eve, 2013,
shows a Honolulu police officer taking a jab at a bystander who recorded an
arrest on his iPhone.
Although he didn't drop the phone, the
bystander, Randy Salazar, Jr., filed a federal lawsuit claiming the officer,
Robert Steiner, broke a bone in his hand after hitting him with a Taser in the
scuffle. Last week, Honolulu City Council approved a settlement to pay Salazar
$37,500 in taxpayer money.
The case was investigated by HPD’s internal
affairs division, which advised that Steiner, a decorated 22-year veteran,
should be charged with second-degree assault. The Honolulu Prosecutor’s office
said there was “insufficient evidence” to do so.
The incident adds nearly $40,000 to the $5.7
million that HPD has paid in settlements in the past 11 years. The Honolulu
Police Department is under heavy scrutiny for its handling of officer
transgressions -- whether it be accidental gun discharge (something that
happened on three separate occasions this year) or domestic violence, as seen
in recent footage of an off-duty sergeant repeatedly punching his girlfriend.
Since 2000, according to Honolulu Civil Beat,
23 Honolulu police officers have been suspended for domestic violence
incidents; an additional three were fired, but were later reinstated or allowed
to resign.
“The police have a hard job . . . but they’re
not above the law,” Tracy Fukui, the attorney who represented Salazar, told
Honolulu Civil Beat. “When their actions cross the line there need to be
consequences.”
