HPD corporal’s 2016 DUI case faces new scrutiny amid questions about how recent crash was handled
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – HNN Investigates has uncovered new information about a Honolulu police corporal who slammed his subsidized vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist,[1] seriously injuring the rider. The case is getting scrutinized because of alleged mishandling.
While the department still refuses to say if it’s looking into claims Vasai Isala Jr. was driving under the influence that night, Hawaii News Now found court records that revealed why the 18-year veteran’s previous DUI charge was dropped following a crash in 2016.
Seven years ago, Isala was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after hitting a utility pole in Makakilo. A jury found the corporal not guilty after a relative visiting from American Samoa testified under oath that he was actually the person behind the wheel.
According to a court recording, Frank Lafiti told the jury that Isala was his wife’s uncle and that the two had known each other for 20 years.
Lafiti testified that in August 2016, he made the trip from Pago Pago to Hawaii in part to visit his two daughters who lived on Oahu.
He added that during the two-week trip, he stayed with Isala.
A day prior to his departure, Lafiti told jurors, he attended a family gathering in Kalihi.
He said Isala was there, too.
In the recording, the prosecutor asks, “How long was Vasai at the party?”
Lafiti responded, “Three hours.”
The prosecutor then said, “You testified that Vasai did drink. What did he drink?”
Lafiti replied, “He was drinking Heineken and he was having shots of Jagermeister”
The prosecutor asked, “(Do) you recall how much … shots?”
Lafiti said, “No sir. He did have quite a few, sir.”
Lafiti testified the pair left the party about 2:30 a.m. on Aug.
29, 2016. Lafiti said he was the designated driver because he doesn’t drink. He told the court, “I drove Vasai’s vehicle.”
The attorney followed up by asking Lafiti, “If you were driving, where was Vasai?”
He testified, “Vasai was situated in the backseat.
He was complaining earlier about his back, it was acting up and he was tired.”
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Lafiti was then asked to tell the court what happened when he got to the Makakilo exit.
“When I exited the freeway onto the Makakilo ramp, I dozed off. And when I came to, the car was straight to the light pole,” he said, who added there was no safe place to pull over at the scene.
He said he drove up the road towards Makakilo, and by then, he said Isala was awake and angry.
Lafiti said he pulled over twice — once so Isala could look at the damage and the second time because Lafiti told the court Isala told him to get out of the vehicle. “He told me that, you know, go ahead and walk home. I’ll stay back and take care of the accident,” Lafiti testified.
The prosecutor followed up by asking, “Where did you go after that?”
Lafiti responded, “I walked straight home.”
Court documents show Isala did not testify.
The jury found him not guilty of DUI and inattention to driving charges.
Meanwhile, details about the HPD corporal’s arrest that night remain unclear.
At no point in Lafiti’s testimony was there any mention of when officers arrived at the scene.
Special Section: HNN Investigates[2]
HNN asked HPD for a copy of the police report.
On Dec.
19, the department confirmed the record could be released, but has yet to turn it over.
At the same time, an internal investigation into officers’ handling of Isala’s latest crash continues. In September, records show, the corporal — off-duty at the time — slammed his subsidized police vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist near Aloha Stadium, leaving the rider seriously injured.
Detectives eventually determined Isala caused the crash.
But that’s not what he told a responding officer in a conversation captured on police body camera video. Instead, Isala claimed he and the motorcyclist were both victims of a hit-and-run driver.
It’s one of three different stories he gave his colleagues following the crash.
Law enforcement sources say prior to this latest crash, Isala had attended a party.
But the crash report shows responding officers never gave him a breathalyzer test and the crash report box asking whether impairment was suspected was left blank.
It also states when crash investigators showed up, Isala was gone but makes no mention where he went.
HNN has asked HPD multiple times if officers drove the corporal home after the crash because they suspected he was intoxicated.
The department refuses to answer the question.
It wasn’t until HNN Investigates made the case public that the department stripped Isala of his police powers and placed him on restricted duty. HPD Chief Joe Logan has said he will not speak[3] to HNN Investigates about any of this until the department’s internal investigation is complete.
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References
- ^ slammed his subsidized vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist, (www.hawaiinewsnow.com)
- ^ HNN Investigates (www.hawaiinewsnow.com)
- ^ HPD Chief Joe Logan has said he will not speak (www.hawaiinewsnow.com)