Probe of former HPD official defended

Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue yesterday said concerns by police officers prompted the investigation of a state official who released reports related to former police officer Clyde Arakawa.

Personal information about Clyde Arakawa was released.

Donohue said officers requested he look into the release of information, including Social Security number and home address, by Ronald Sakata, chief adjudicator for the state Judiciary Administrative Driver’s License Revocation Office.

"Personally, I think they (the office) were not aware of the laws and I don’t think there was any intent to violate the law," Donohue said. "But this is a concern to us because it was brought up by officers."

Deputy Attorney General John Dellera said there is no basis for wrongdoing on Sakata’s part, and U.S. District Judge David Ezra hammered home that point on Monday in dismissing a lawsuit brought by Arakawa against Sakata over the release of the documents.

Dellera represented Sakata in asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.

"I can’t comment on the reasons for the (police) investigation or how it is proceeding," Dellera said yesterday. "All I can say is under the law, I can’t see how it has any basis."

The reports were submitted to the driver’s revocation office following Arakawa’s arrest after the fatal collision that killed 19-year-old Dana Ambrose the night of Oct. 7. According to police, Arakawa’s 1993 Ford Thunderbird slammed into a Honda Civic driven by Ambrose at the intersection of Pali Highway and School Street.

The off-duty officer was arrested and released at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence and first-degree negligent homicide. Arakawa, 49, who has since retired from the force, has not been charged, but his driver’s license was revoked .

In a federal lawsuit, 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. Ezra dismissed the lawsuit, saying the release may have been a "misjudgment," but Sakata broke no laws.

Police this week confirmed the investigation of Sakata that police spokeswoman Jean Motoyama said came up after officers expressed concern about the information release "a week or two ago."

She said she was unsure if any criminal complaint had been filed by any officers.

"We’re not saying that we’re seeking criminal action," Donohue said. "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."

Police Detective Chris Duque interviewed an Advertiser staff writer Tuesday about the case, and told him the questioning was in connection with the filing of possible criminal action against Sakata.

Police said the probe focuses on whether there was a violation of the state’s open records law, which exempts government records from disclosure if their release constitute "a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy."

Dellera said an intentional release of confidential records by a public official is a misdemeanor.

There is no statute setting aside as confidential the information Sakata released, Dellera said.

Among the legal community, some attorneys said Donohue is following a proper course. Chief Deputy Public Defender Dean Yamashiro said the initial inquiry into Sakata’s actions is the purview of investigators, rather than lawyers, to interpret statutes.

"They’ve got to find out whether (a violation) actually occurred; you don’t generally have the lawyers do that," Yamashiro said. "I actually think an inquiry was warranted, but I don’t think they (police) should do a complete investigation because there might be a conflict of interest."

At some point the case would have to be turned over to another agency like the attorney general’s office, he said.

Defense attorney Brook Hart said it’s "only appropriate" for police to investigate if there might be a crime, and that it’s not right for Donohue to be second-guessed if there is no appearance of harassment of Sakata.

Sakata yesterday could not be reached for comment. He previously said he released what he felt was public information, but in the wake of Arakawa’s lawsuit, has decided it is "reasonable" to remove certain information like Social Security numbers.

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