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Honolulu – Hawaii
A Samoan man’s lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department is currently before the Hawaii Police Department, alleging that he was wrongfully arrested by officers despite a police investigation confirming he was under the influence of alcohol at the time.
According to Hawaii News Media Group, police allegedly arrested Amon Fepre during a trip to Hawaii last November.
At 11:30 pm, as Fepre was leaving a happy wedding family, his car was stopped on his way to his family in Mililani.
Fiplai explained to the Samoa Observer that this was the first time his car had been stopped for drink driving or drug use, and since he was a person who did not drink hard liquor or take drugs, the situation made him very shy, as it seemed that something was happening to him.
Mr. Fepuleai, who is a teacher at American Samoa Consolidated College (ASCC), but more than that, he is well known in American Samoa for his various services, said this was the first time that his situation had happened to him, where he was detained, held and taken to the police station.
He described how he felt when the police arrested him. As his hands were chained, he felt terrified because no one, family or friends, knew what was happening to him or what would happen to him.
He said he tries not to let it affect his life. But he is trying to show people that he has a problem. However, Feprey said he is still confused by the incident.
He explained that many times when he was driving, especially at night, he would try to control his behavior on the highway and obey traffic laws, especially when he saw a police car.
The Honolulu Police Department has confirmed that they have received numerous complaints to their “Professional Standards” office, which monitors police practices in the performance of their duties with regard to people detained for DUI.
Hawaii News-Nation (HNN) also reported on drivers who were stopped and searched for drinking, but confirmed that these drivers were not drinking but were still targeted.
Some of those drivers, including Fepre, have filed lawsuits investigating how the police performed their duties.
Febuleai said this was likely to be an ongoing problem.
HNN was able to obtain police body camera video footage of Fepulei’s arrest in November 2023, despite tests being conducted on him (breathalyzer) and confirming he was not intoxicated.
The day Fepre was released from prison, he filed a complaint.
Two weeks later, a response was received from the Honolulu Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards stating that their office had completed its investigation and determined that there was a lack of evidence to support Fepre’s claims.
Fepulei insisted that the PSO did not take his claims seriously.
But attorney Jonathan Burge, who later became a Honolulu police officer, declared that PSOs often look at the behavior of police officers to see if they are fully complying with the law.
Berg said he was surprised the officer who took Fepre to jail was not punished because, by law, his camera equipment was turned off when he and Fepre went to the police station.
HNN showed in the video it aired that Febulei underwent a breathalyser test, and the police report confirmed that Asuaava Fepulei did not undergo the test, that is, he had no alcohol in his system.
Berg said that after confirming that Fepre was not drunk, the police changed their story and said they suspected Fepre of taking drugs.
Fepre shared with the HNN Investigative Team a portion of the police report in which police marked “no” on the strength of the “bear scent” or the presence of drugs.
But another police officer’s camera captured Fepré’s hands being handcuffed, and the second officer said Fepré was handcuffed because he was driving and was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
When Fepre was placed in the police car, the officer driving the vehicle turned off the camera, even though he was legally forced to do so, but he could not leave it on.
Additionally, Fepre told HNN when it interviewed him last year that police ordered him to refuse to join later to do some research in order to save time.
Fepulei complied with the police order and paid a fixed sum of $500 to be released. However, Fepulei said he regretted complying with the police order.
Fepre said he had a purpose and police would not give advice to others like they gave him.
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