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The Honolulu City Council has authorized an additional $100,000 to cover ongoing legal fees for two former Honolulu police officers being sued by occupants of a vehicle that crashed during a police pursuit in Makaha in 2021. 

The money was approved to pay for legal representation for Erik Smith and Jake Ryan Bartolome in two lawsuits filed against the city in connection with the crash that injured six people. An initial $100,000 — or $50,000 each — in legal fees was approved for the men last year. 

Two other officers, Robert Lewis III and Joshua Nahulu, are also named in the lawsuits. The city has not yet requested money for their legal fees because attorneys have not been retained for them yet, according to a statement from the city’s Corporation Counsel.

All four officers are also facing criminal charges.

Nahulu, Smith and Bartolome were discharged from the police department in early February after an internal investigation was completed, according to HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu. The officers have filed grievances, she said in a statement. 

Lewis received a three-day suspension last year for failing to activate his body camera upon arriving at the scene of the crash and concealing his fellow officers’ involvement in the pursuit, according to an HPD disciplinary report submitted to the Legislature in January. 

Robert Cavaco, president of the state’s police union, said in a statement that the union has a duty to represent its members in the administrative discipline process.

“As such, we are going to reserve comment on case specifics at this time,” the statement says.

Councilwoman Val Okimoto, who is chair of the Public Safety Committee, was the only council member to vote against approving the additional funds for the officers’ legal fees at Wednesday’s council meeting. She decided to vote no after learning the officers had been discharged. 

“I felt it was the right thing to do, a matter of principle, that we don’t continue to pay for legal fees if the officers have been fired from the department,” she said. 

But Victor Bakke, a former Honolulu prosecutor who is now a criminal defense attorney, said what matters is that the officers were employed by the police department when the incident occurred, and the city has a responsibility to defend its employees against lawsuits. 

“If they’re on the clock, then the city’s on the hook,” he said. 

The Honolulu Police Commission, which determines whether the city should represent officers when lawsuits are filed against them, approved legal services for all four of the officers.

Criminal Case

Nahulu, Smith, Bartolome and Lewis are accused of pursuing a Honda Civic driven by Jonaven Perkins-Sinapati at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and intentionally ramming it until it crashed. Prosecutors say they then fled, regrouped in another location and returned to the scene pretending to not know what happened. 

Nahulu is charged with collision involving death or serious injury, a class B felony that could result in up to 10 years in prison. Smith, Bartolome and Lewis are each charged with one count of hindering prosecution in the first degree and conspiring to hinder prosecution, a class C felony that carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Bartolome’s attorney, Pedric Arrisgado, declined to comment. Attorneys for the other three men did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their trial is scheduled to begin on June 3. It was previously set for December.

Pending Lawsuits

The pending civil matters against the officers and the City and County of Honolulu include state and federal lawsuits filed on behalf of Dayten Gouveia, one of the passengers who was seriously injured in the crash.

Gouveia’s attorney, Eric Seitz, said his client suffered debilitating injuries and requires around-the-clock care. Settlement discussions are scheduled for May. He declined to provide details on how much the city offered but said it was less than half of what his client will need to pay for medical care for the rest of his life.

Another lawsuit filed on behalf of Perkins-Sinapati was tentatively settled in late January. 

Maria Penn, one of the lawyers representing Perkins-Sinapati, declined to discuss the settlement until it is approved by the City Council. The council could take up the matter next month. 

Perkins-Sinapati suffered permanent traumatic brain injuries, Penn said. 

“They’re not going to be injuries that he’s going to be able to fully recover from,” she said.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of four other passengers who were critically injured was settled for $4.5 million last year.