9 HPD officers are named in civil suit alleging brutality
HPD PHOTOS Sidney Tafokitau, left, Tevita Cadiente HPD PHOTOS Sidney Tafokitau, left, Tevita Cadiente An amended federal civil complaint alleges nine Hono lulu police officers beat a 25-year-old man after knowing he wasn't the prime suspect in a Jan. 1, 2024, pursuit and gunfight with an attempted murder suspect.
Five Honolulu police officers by Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm for using force on Tevita Cadiente, who they found running toward a police shootout with an attempted murder suspect who shot two officers.
Cadiente suffered a facial fracture, a traumatic subconjunctival hemorrhage, a concussion, orthopedic knee injuries, cognitive impairment including memory loss and confusion, and vision loss.
His knee was injured when it was hit by a police van, and the injuries to his face were caused when an officer pulled him to the ground face-first.
Cadiente knew Sidney Tafokitau, a 44-year-old attempted murder suspect who shot his ex-girlfriend with an AR-15 assault rifle on Jan. 1, 2024, before leading officers on a daylong, islandwide manhunt while shooting at them.
The roughly 100-mile chase involved about 62 police officers and one of HPD's MD 500E helicopters.
Don 't miss out on what 's happening !
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE !
Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA.
Tafokitau shot and wounded two officers on University Avenue before he was shot 23 times by police. He died at the scene. the officers were justified to use deadly force.
Amid the chaos, Cadiente was intercepted by police as he ran toward where Tafokitau confronted officers for the final time. Cadiente and Tafokitau are both tall, Polynesian males with facial hair who were wearing similar patterned shorts.
Cadiente allegedly knew Tafokitau, whom he called 'Pepe ' from 'the clubs.'
Cadiente was aware Tafokitau was being chased by police and 'ran out to record it, ' according to the police investigation of the alleged beating.
Cadiente admitted to having Tafokitau's name and number in his cellphone under the name 'Nuketown.' Police found no evidence that Cadiente was helping Tafokitau.
Alm said in January that responding Honolulu police officers believed that Tevita Cadiente was Tafokitau.
In a Jan. 31 news conference, Alm noted that five officers involved in the Cadiente incident would not be charged criminally.
Those officers are Patrick Sung, Douglas Lee, Christopher Chu, Ryan Domingo and Hubert Louiz Barboza. Those officers, plus four more, are named in the federal civil complaint.
HPD officers Darren Lee Soto, Joseph Pagan, Masa kazu Kurita and John Otto were not part of the prosecuting attorney's investigation into the Cadiente incident, but are named in the civil suit.
The amended complaint, filed Tuesday, refers to discovered police body cam footage, allegedly showing multiple 'police officers stomping Mr. Cadiente in the face, resulting in several facial lacerations, a fractured nose, and other severe injuries, ' Cadiente's attorney, Michael D. Rudy, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
About 1-1 /2 minutes after Tafokitau was shot dead, at least one police officer is audibly heard stating, 'I don't think this is our man, ' according to the amended complaint.
'We do not comment on ongoing litigation, ' read a statement to the Star-Advertiser from the city Department of the Corporation Counsel.
According to the time stamp on the body-worn camera footage secured by Cadiente's attorneys, he was hit with a van and allegedly beaten by police from '4 :15 :42 to at least 4 :16 :50 p.m., ' according to the amended complaint. An ambulance arrived at the scene at 4 :21 :50 and attended to Cadiente at 4 :22 :00.
About 20 seconds after Cadiente was hit with the unmarked police van, the radio dispatch operator gave the first time-specific location of University Avenue and Dole Street for the 'officer down ' as a result of being shot by Tafokitau.
Ten seconds later the radio dispatch operator stated, 'It looks like suspect may be on foot, ' according to the complaint.
Two of the HPD officers allegedly signed statements, 'which were used in the HPD criminal and internal affairs investigations that reviewed their conduct, stating that they had struck Mr. Cadiente with the police van only after receiving radio dispatch information that the suspect was running down University at the time they viewed Mr. Cadiente on the sidewalk.'
When the officers submitted their incident reports, 'each knew that their statements regarding the factors which led them to decide to strike Mr. Cadiente with the van based upon a prior radio dispatch describing a suspect running down University were totally false and untrue, as Mr. Cadiente had been taken down well prior to any notification of a location that a potential suspect was on the move, on foot, down University, just past Dole, ' read the amended complaint.
Rudy asked that the police body-worn camera footage be made 'immediately available to the public.'
City attorneys only recently received the request to release the footage and are still analyzing the matter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New details emerge in Officer Krystal Rivera's mistaken fatal shooting by her partner as man charged in connection with case is ordered detained
Moments before her death Thursday night, Chicago police Officer Krystal Rivera and her partner were rushing after a person they'd just attempted to stop on suspicion of having a weapon when that suspect ran into an apartment building located at 8210 S. Drexel Blvd., prosecutors said Sunday. Inside one of the building's apartments, Assistant State's Attorney Joell Bisceliga said Rivera and her partner found Adrian Rucker, 25, standing behind a sofa with an AR-style pistol. The person they'd originally been chasing jumped over a couch and went down a hallway inside the apartment, Bisceglia said, while Rucker allegedly pointed the gun at Rivera's partner, who was standing in the doorway. Rivera's partner fired, Bisceglia said, but mistakenly hit Rivera as she pursued the original suspect. She died of a single gunshot wound to the back, the first Chicago police officer to die on-duty this year. Authorities on Saturday charged Rucker with armed violence, use of a firearm without a firearm owner's identification card, possession of a fake ID and drug possession. Cook County Judge Shauna Boliker on Sunday ordered Rucker, a Freeport resident with six previously issued arrest warrants, held pending trial. Rucker; a 26-year-old woman from Freeport; and the original suspect the officers had been chasing all got out of the apartment moments after the shooting, Bisceglia said. Rucker and the woman were both arrested about 20 minutes later, in the gated yard of a building at 8215 S. Maryland Ave. Rucker appeared in court wearing a blue button-up shirt with his hands cuffed behind his back while family members of Rivera sat huddled together in one of the first rows in Courtroom 100, marked 'police officers only.' Dozens of other uniformed beat officers, sergeants and department members crowded into the rows behind them. Bisceglia said he appeared pointing the rifle both on Rivera's partner's body-worn camera and on the apartment's internal surveillance camera, and that the officer who accidentally shot Rivera identified him in a photo array as the person who had pointed the rifle at him. The first suspect 'made good on his escape,' Bisceglia said. A Police Department representative declined to comment on whether that person had since been arrested, only saying that detectives continued to investigate the case. Officers searching the apartment found three guns, several magazines and several rounds of ammunition in the apartment, court records show. Those weapons included an AR-style pistol with an empty 60-round drum magazine, a Glock handgun and a black and tan AR-style pistol, Bisceglia said. Police also found a scale and numerous containers of suspected crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, Bisceglia said. An open safe in the apartment held suspected heroin, she said, and about 20 fake ID cards that showed Rucker's picture from different states, including California and Ohio, were found in a kitchen cabinet. Authorities had previously issued six arrest warrants for Rucker. According to police sources, those warrants are for criminal damage to property, theft under $500, and two alleged instances of domestic battery, all out of Stephenson County in northwestern Illinois. He also had a warrant for aggravated identity theft out of northwest suburban Rolling Meadows and another for possession of fake identification out of Winnebago County, court records show. The woman had one active warrant, according to police sources. According to Cook County Court records, Rucker was first arrested in April 2024 for alleged aggravated identity theft in Rolling Meadows. He was released pending trial, records show, but failed to appear for a June court date and Judge Ellen Beth Mandeltort issued an arrest warrant in July 2024. Assistant Public Defender Joseph Stachler pointed out that the court had not yet received the body-worn camera footage or surveillance tape that anchored much of the state's attorney's proffer, and asked that Rucker be released pending trial to live with his mother and two brothers. Boliker ordered him held, citing his past criminal convictions for domestic violence, disorderly conduct and battery as well as past failures to appear for court. Rucker's next appearance is set for Thursday. The woman who was arrested with Rucker has not been charged with anything related to Rivera's death, but appeared in Cook County bond court Saturday regarding her arrest warrant out of Stephenson County, court records show. Her next court date is scheduled for Thursday. Rivera's death brought a wave of support messages from city leaders last week. Funeral information for her had not been released Sunday. ____
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a ‘mobile security crisis'
Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices, and the apps they use as a weak link in US cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say. Advertisement 'The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,' said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity specialist at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. 'No one is watching the phones.' US authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. 'They were able to listen in on phone calls in real-time and able to read text messages,' said Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Advertisement Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the U.S. of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. 'The U.S. has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets,' Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. US intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to US economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The U.S. and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the U.S. — a growing concern to lawmakers. 'The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,' US Representative John Moolenaar, Republican of Michigan and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their US operations. Advertisement Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones, and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords, and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators, and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles's connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles's number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information, or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a 'cyber trust mark' for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. 'They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,' said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Advertisement Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. 'They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,' Williams said. 'We just can't share things willy-nilly.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas Judge Indicted For Death Threat To Force Plea Deal
(Texas Scorecard) – A grand jury has handed down an indictment against Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin after he allegedly threatened a defendant to accept a plea deal. Last month, Texas Scorecard reported on a federal lawsuit that alleges Franklin told defendant Coby Wiebe 'you take that deal boy or dead men can't testify.' Wiebe accepted a plea deal three days later. The 8th District Court later dismissed the case in April after learning of Judge Franklin's alleged death threats. The indictment also alleges Judge Franklin coerced and pressured Jennifer Patterson—his chief clerk—into signing a false affidavit in February. On May 27, a Rains County grand jury decided—in The State of Texas v. Robert Jenkins Franklin—that there was enough evidence against Franklin to return an indictment on two misdemeanor counts of official oppression and two felony counts of tampering with a witness. Franklin was arrested and admitted the next day to the Van Zandt County Detention Center. Judge Chris Martin of the 8th District Court in Rains County set Franklin's bail at $25,000 with conditions of bond or pre-trial release. He posted the bond and was released the following morning. Judge Martin's bond conditions placed heavy restrictions on Franklin's civil liberties while awaiting trial. Franklin may not communicate with or be within 1,000 feet of the victims he threatened—Patterson and Wiebe. He is also prohibited from going within 500 feet of the Rains County Courthouse, where he still presides as Justice of the Peace. The bond conditions also ordered him to avoid 'places where alcoholic beverages are possessed, sold, or used on site.' He previously made headlines in March 2024 when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Conditions also state Franklin 'shall not possess a firearm at any time.' A Facebook post reportedly shows Franklin wielding an AR-15 in his judicial office at the Rains County Courthouse. Texas law permits judges with handgun licenses to carry concealed handguns in courthouses, according to Texas Penal Code § 46.15(a)(7). However, this exception does not extend to rifles or other firearms without explicit court authorization. Court dates will be set and announced by the Rains County District Court as the prosecution moves forward. In the related federal civil case brought by Coby Wiebe, a hearing is scheduled for June 30 at 11 a.m. in the Hunt County Courthouse in Greenville. Judge Franklin, Coby Wiebe, and Jennifer Patterson did not respond to Texas Scorecard's request for comment in time for publication. If you or anyone you know has information regarding bad actions by judges, please contact our tip line: scorecardtips@
