Mayor: Credibility of HPD ‘on the line’ as officers are being investigated for mishandling crash probe

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi is responding to police body camera video that shows the actions of Honolulu police officers under investigation for mishandling a crash investigation involving one of their own.

“I don’t think I’ve been more concerned about a police matter since I’ve been in office,” he told HNN. “This is of extreme importance because this is about credibility and integrity.

“That’s what’s on the line.”

Records show HPD Cpl. Vasai Isala Jr. was on “last chance” probation when he recently slammed his subsidized vehicle into the back of a motorcyclist, seriously injuring the rider.

For two months, the department has refused to respond to questions about the case, including whether Isala may have been driving intoxicated.

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On the evening of Sept. 22, documents show Isala slammed into the back of a motorcyclist on Kamehameha Highway near Aloha Stadium. Records show 62-year-old Randy Sagario was taken to the hospital with a concussion and serious spinal injury.

Investigators eventually determined Isala caused the crash.

But that’s not what he told a responding officer in a conversation that was captured on body camera video. Instead, Isala claimed he and the motorcyclist were both victims of a hit-and-run.

“He said there was a fled. He said that a bus hit his vehicle. I got to get more info, but he said he’s not Unit 1,” said the responding officer, as she tried to explain what happened to another colleague.

Police records indicate that was one of at least three stories Isala provided his colleagues.

It appeared he was also in no rush to cooperate with the investigation.

An officer asked Isala, “Did you see the guy take off?”

He responded, “No, I was focused on these guys.”

The officer replied, “Can you tell me? Do you want to write one statement then?”

“Later,” Isala said.

Prior to the crash, law enforcement sources say Isala had attended a party.

Meanwhile, the accident report shows responding officers never gave the 18-year-veteran a field sobriety test. The box asking if officers suspected impairment was left blank.

That same document also revealed when the crash scene investigator showed up, Isala was gone — but the report makes no mention of where he went.

It wouldn’t be the first time Isala was a suspect in a DUI case.

Court documents reveal he was arrested for driving under the influence and crashing into a utility pole seven years ago.

A judge later found him not guilty of the 2016 DUI and inattention to driving charges.

HNN has asked the Honolulu Police Department multiple times if on-scene officers drove the corporal home after the crash because they suspected he was intoxicated. The department still refuses to answer the question — or any other question regarding what happened that night.

So HNN Investigates took those concerns to the mayor.

When asked if he had any conversations with Chief Joe Logan about the situation, Blangiardi replied, “Yes, I have — at length. And his position as he maintains with me, is that irrespective of what’s going on in the video and what’s been said thus far, there is a formal investigation going on.”

It wasn’t until HNN Investigates made the case public that the department placed Isala on desk duty and removed his police powers. HPD also confirms an internal investigation into the responding officers’ “handling of the incident” is underway.

Blangiardi said he doesn’t know how long the investigation will take but added, “I suspect given the amount of evidence that’s been put forth on this and the video and the eyewitness accounts ... and even the testimony of the person who was injured that this should not take a very long time.”

Meanwhile the victim has a simple request: “Just tell the truth,” said Sagario. “Your officers need to be accountable.” Two and a half months after the crash, Sagario says he is still dealing with headaches and waves of nausea along with spine and shoulder issues.

HNN Investigates asked the mayor if he could reassure the victim in this case that the case would be handled appropriately. Blangiardi responded, “I promise you, at this office, as far as I’m concerned, that this investigation will be done as fair and as through as possible.”

In recent years, public trust in HPD has taken some major blows.

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Former Police Chief Louis Keahoha and his ex-Deputy Prosecutor wife Katherine are currently serving time in federal prison for their part in a public corruption scandal.

Meanwhile, another high-profile case is set to go to trail, involving four officers accused in a chase and crash in Makaha that critically injured multiple people.

HNN asked what the Blangiardi administration is doing to root out corruption within HPD. Blangiardi said, “I have to rely on the leadership at HPD. You have to have somebody in there that you completely trust. So, I want to completely trust Chief Logan. I’m going to rely on that.

“And we’ll see what happens.”

Besides Isala, HPD confirms all of the other officers under investigation are currently on full duty.