An attorney for the father and son allegedly hit with a Honolulu police van and beaten by up to 12 officers during an islandwide New Year’s Day manhunt for an attempted murder suspect said HPD has not identified or interviewed any of the officers involved.
HPD’s internal investigation is ongoing five months after the officers allegedly hit one man with a van, then beat him and his father.
Michael D. Rudy, an attorney for Vaokehekehe Mataele, 49, and his son, Tevita Cadiente, 25, told reporters at a Thursday news conference that they turned over video of the incident from witnesses and TV news media and witness lists to HPD’s Professional Standards Office “several months ago.”
Rudy made a public plea to the officers to “identify themselves and turn themselves in to internal affairs.”
Rudy declined to discuss details of his clients’ conversations with HPD officers investigating the New Year’s Day manhunt, gunfire fights and alleged beating. Mataele was originally identified by police as a suspect in the case.
“Based on those conversations (with police), we don’t believe anyone has been identified as a direct participant or a witness,” said Rudy, who noted that the images and video shared with police are sufficient to identify officers. “This notion of accountability is the foundation of our democracy. We are troubled and disappointed by the pace of this investigation.”
The video and images shared with police do not show the alleged beating.
In addition to the eight to 12 officers who participated in the alleged offense, 10 to 12 officers stood around and “watched this brutal beating,” Rudy said.
Cadiente suffered a facial fracture, a traumatic subconjunctival hemorrhage, a concussion, orthopedic knee injuries, cognitive impairment including memory loss and confusion, and vision loss, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that Mataele “shouted to the officers that he and his son were not involved in the chase, but that officers ignored his words and continued beating Mr. Cadiente for multiple minutes on end.” Mataele was allegedly held down and handcuffed, with his head forced onto the pavement.
Rudy said Cadiente’s cognitive functions are “coming back to baseline” but that he needs reconstructive knee surgery after the black police van ran him into a fence.
Police did not respond to Rudy’s allegations Thursday.
On Wednesday, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan told Honolulu police commissioners that he knew of the pending news conference by Rudy and that “HPD is reviewing all the aspects of what happened on New Year’s Day.”
“All of that is still under investigation. Sometime in the future the results of those investigations will be forthcoming,” Logan told the commissioners.
No officers have been placed on restricted duty, and the administrative review of the incident is underway and will include officers’ actions before and following the shooting, according to police.