Honolulu paid $167,500 to two hikers who said they were brutalized by officers

Johnny Helm says he suffered broken bones in his face after he and a friend were mistaken for burglary suspects by Honolulu police officers while hiking on the Koolau mountains in 2012.

The two men said two of the cops slammed them face-first into the ground while arresting them for a crime they didn’t commit. They filed complaints with the Honolulu Police Commission over excessive use of force.

The commission agreed that the police overreacted, but court records in a lawsuit filed by Helm and his friend, Jonah Wellins, indicate that neither officer was punished by the department. Other officers who were found to have acted unprofessionally during the arrest also avoided punishment.

In fact, court documents show that top Honolulu Police Department officials, including Chief Louis Kealoha, found that the officers were well within their realm of authority when violently detaining Helm and Wellins.

We sued to punish the police and hopefully get HPD to clean up its act,” Breiner said. “But the position that HPD has taken is essentially that they bought their way out of the case without taking any responsibility.”

An attorney says a metal rod needed to be inserted through Johnny Helm’s eyelid to repair broken bones in his face."

http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/09/hpd-ignores-toothless-police-commission-in-use-of-force-case/