Officer fired after violent video surfaced to get his job back — with back pay

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The former police officer who was fired after video of him in a violent fight with his ex-girlfriend surfaced will be reinstated and get years of back pay.

That's the decision of an arbitrator who oversaw the disputed case.

Darren Cachola was caught on video in 2014 in a Waipahu restaurant.

He was never arrested, instead getting a ride home from responding officers.

Weeks later, a grand jury did not indict him but then-HPD Chief Louis Kealoha still moved forward with his termination, firing Cachola for failing to leave a liquor establishment.

That ended up being an improper reason for the HPD to terminate him.

Last year, Cachola had another run in with the law after his wife called 911, saying he was choking her.

When officers arrived at the home, sources say, she told them that she was not hurt. Again, he was not arrested.

Cachola has been trying to get his job back since being fired in 2015, something former acting Chief Cary Okimoto refused to allow.

Both sides headed into arbitration late last year, in a process that has taken months.

It's unclear when Cachola will be back to work and exactly how much back pay he'll receive, but the amount is expected to be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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