Ex-officer's trial starts today with jury picks
By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer
After months of delay, the trial of former Honolulu police officer Clyde Arakawa begins today before Circuit Judge Karen Ahn with jury selection.
Advertiser library photo
Prosecutors say Arakawa, 49, was drunk when his 1993 Ford Thunderbird collided with a 2000 Honda Civic in October 2000, killing Dana Ambrose, a 19-year-old University of Hawai'i student. Arakawa is charged with reckless manslaughter.
Clyde Arakawa was off duty at the time of fatal crash.
Arakawa's lawyer, Michael Ostendorp, claims that Ambrose was speeding home from work and ran a red light at the intersection and that Arakawa, who was off duty, did not cause the collision.
The accident and its aftermath resulted in public outrage.
Police Chief Lee Donohue first denied that Arakawa received special treatment after the car crash, but within days acknowledged that Arakawa was given certain "courtesies" that would not be granted to others involved in a fatal collision.
Arakawa was allowed to call a police union lawyer from the scene and refused to submit to a blood test. A breath test for alcohol was done five hours after the crash.
Although Arakawa was told the breath test was merely to ensure that his ability to answer questions from investigators was not impaired, Ahn has granted a prosecution request to use the breath test results to show that Arakawa was drunk, as defined by Hawai'i law, when the crash occurred.
In August, Ahn rejected a request by Ostendorp to have the trial moved to Oregon, where Arakawa now lives.
Jury selection is expected to take two to three weeks.
