Honolulu Police Sergeant Charged With Domestic Abuse
Updated: Darren Cachola had already lost his job — and then got it back — after a previous 2014 incident, in which he was caught on video punching his girlfriend.
(AP) —A Honolulu police sergeant is accused of domestic violence.
The Honolulu Police Department said Wednesday that Sgt. Darren Cachola was charged with misdemeanor abuse of a household member and two counts of harassment. He was being held on $1,500 bail, and the department said his police powers will be removed.
Police released Cachola from custody after he posted $1,500 bail.
Correction: An earlier version of this report inaccurately said the new arrest was in connection with a 2014 incident.
In an earlier case, Cachola was caught on video in 2014 punching his girlfriend in a Waipahu restaurant has been charged with domestic violence.
While the surveillance video showed Cachola pummeling his girlfriend, Cachola and the woman said they were horsing around.
Former HPD chief Louis Kealoha, who has since been indicted on federal criminal charges, asked Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro to review the case.
Still, the video sparked widespread outrage, particularly among women legislators, and called into question how the nation’s 20th largest police department confronts domestic violence. Cachola was eventually fired, but after a police union challenge an arbitrator ruled he should get his job back.
Meanwhile, a in the Legislature would require police agencies to disclose information about employees who have been suspended or discharged. If that were already the law, the public would have long ago been able to see the HPD’s disciplinary finding in the Cachola case as well as arbitrator’s decision that reinstated him.
An attorney who represented Cachola previously didn’t return a calling seeking comment on the new charges.
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