HPD Lawsuit: Were Sober Drivers Unlawfully Arrested in Honolulu?

A new lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Hawaii raises concerns about DUI enforcement practices by the Honolulu Police Department (HPD), claiming that sober individuals were improperly arrested and detained. The court filing alleges that these detentions lacked probable cause and may have been carried out in violation of constitutional rights.

Plaintiffs Ammon Fepuleai, Sarah Poppinga, and Tanner Pangan have brought forward the complaint, citing their experiences as examples of a wider issue involving the treatment of drivers in Oahu.

Lawsuit Claims HPD Arrested Sober Drivers to Meet Enforcement Goals

Filed in federal court, the lawsuit accuses HPD and its leadership of arresting drivers who were later found to have no detectable alcohol in their systems. According to the complaint, the department conducted these arrests during DUI checkpoints and traffic stops between 2022 and 2024.

The plaintiffs' breathalyzer results reportedly showed a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.00. Despite this, they were transported to police stations and held as if impaired.

The ACLU claims the department maintained a "singular focus on getting DUI arrests but not necessarily DUI convictions."

Arrests Allegedly Tied to Federal Funding Incentives

The lawsuit asserts that statistics related to DUI arrests are often tied to performance metrics and federal grants. According to the ACLU, HPD received over a million dollars in federal support for DUI programs during the period examined in the claim.

Some officers, the complaint suggests, may have been rewarded when they met or exceeded enforcement benchmarks, regardless of the outcome of those arrests.

The complaint references a total of 127 incidents from 2022 to 2024 in which drivers were apprehended but produced no alcohol on breath or blood tests. Of those cases, only three resulted in charges for alleged drug impairment. Nearly every other arrest cited in the data ended with no charges filed at all.

Drivers Describe Lasting Impact of Unlawful Detentions

Plaintiff Ammon Fepuleai was arrested on November 7, 2023, after passing through a checkpoint in Waipio. Despite blowing a 0.00 on his test, he was detained. Fepuleai said he joined the lawsuit not out of personal gain but to support changes in policy.

Another plaintiff, Sarah Poppinga, was arrested June 15, 2023, after leaving a restaurant in Ward. Her breathalyzer also showed zero alcohol, yet she was taken into custody.

Tanner Pangan, the third named plaintiff, had just turned 18 when he was pulled over and arrested on January 2, 2024, near Aloha Stadium. He expressed concern about the future, saying the experience had caused him lasting anxiety. “I hope they arrest people that are actually under the influence and causing harm,” Pangan stated during an interview with Hawaii News Now.

Department Says It’s Reviewing Arrest Practices

In response to the allegations, HPD issued a statement confirming it is evaluating all DUI-related detentions going back to 2021. The department said the internal review aims to detect problematic trends and to improve officer training and field protocols.

The statement added that HPD “takes these allegations very seriously,” and that further steps may be taken depending on the findings of the review.

Thus far, no changes in leadership or immediate policy alterations have been publicly disclosed.

Law Enforcement Agencies Face Similar Legal Challenges Nationwide

This lawsuit follows other recent legal complaints involving similar claims of unlawful detention. In April, Las Vegas city marshals were sued for allegedly arresting individuals outside their jurisdiction. That lawsuit also involved disputed DUI tests and later releases without filed charges.

In both cases, plaintiffs point to emotional distress, reputational damage, and disruption to daily life due to arrests they say were baseless.

The ACLU is not requesting monetary compensation for the three named drivers. Instead, the HPD lawsuit's central goal is to obtain a federal court declaration that HPD’s methods violate constitutional protections.

By seeking injunctive relief, the plaintiffs aim to prevent HPD from conducting further arrests without supporting evidence, particularly in situations involving drivers who test negative for alcohol or drug use.

The case could potentially represent a class consisting of hundreds of other drivers who experienced similar arrests since 2022. The outcome may also influence future law enforcement practices in DUI enforcement across Hawaii.