By Rod Ohira and William Cole
Advertiser Staff Writers

Police are trying to determine whether Hawai‘i privacy laws were violated by the release of information on a vehicular homicide suspect by the administrator of the state Judiciary Administrative Drivers’s License Revocation Office.

“Personally, I think they were not aware of the laws, and I don’t think there was any intent to violate the law,” Police Chief Lee Donohue said today. “But this is a concern to us because it was brought up by officers.”

Donohue said officers requested he look into the release of information such as Social Security numbers and home addresses by Ronald Sakata, chief adjudicator of the license revocation office, in the case against retired police officer Clyde Arakawa.

Arakawa has been charged with drunken driving in a collision involving 19-year-old Dana Ambrose.

“We’re not saying that we’re seeking criminal action,” Donohue said of the investigation. “So much information was given out and we’re just trying to find out what happened.

“It was brought up by officers but applies to the public, too. There’s a safeguard in place to protect everyone’s right to privacy and we need to find out what happened. I don’t think there is any criminal intent by anyone.”

The state’s open-record law provides for five exceptions in which information cannot be released: if disclosure would be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; government records that might be involved in a court case, or that must be confidential for government to function, or that are protected from disclosure; and the records, transcripts and personal files of members of the Legislature.

Violation is a misdemeanor.

Arakawa, who was off duty at the time of the collision and has since retired, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and first-degree negligent homicide, but was later released pending investigation. His driver’s license was revoked after the crash at School Street and Pali Highway.

Sakata said yesterday he was not aware of a criminal investigation, and declined comment.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra earlier threw out a lawsuit in which Arakawa claimed Sakata’s release of his home address, birth date, Social Security number and police reports about the collision violated his right to privacy.

Advertiser staff writer David Waite contributed to this report.