HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Former Honolulu police sergeant Darren Cachola is asking taxpayers to fund his legal defense as he faces a civil rights class-action lawsuit stemming from DUI arrests made without evidence.
Cachola made no statements during a contested case hearing on Wednesday, leaving his attorney, William Harrison, to speak on his behalf.
Background on the lawsuit
Cachola was the ranking officer at a roadblock in the Waipio area in 2023 when Ammon Fepuleai was stopped.
An officer is heard on body camera video saying he detected the odor of alcohol on Fepuleai, but a breath test at the scene returned a result of 0.00 — no alcohol was present in his system. Fepuleai was arrested anyway for DUI.
After HNN Investigates broke that story, more drivers came forward saying they were also arrested for DUI with no evidence against them…