HRS § 28-153 - Review of incidents of officer-involved death
AI-assisted research summary: Law enforcement agencies must have a written policy for investigating officer-involved deaths, investigate those incidents, share the investigation results with the board, and cooperate with the board. The board reviews the case, makes recommendations to the county prosecuting attorney, keeps materials confidential until later release, and the section does not create a private right of action.
(a) Each law enforcement agency in the State shall have a written policy regarding the investigation of incidents of officer-involved death. (b) In the event of any incident of officer-involved death, each law enforcement agency shall be responsible for conducting a criminal investigation of the law enforcement officer or officers involved in the incident. (c) Each law enforcement agency conducting the criminal investigation of the officer-involved death shall disclose to the board the final disposition of the law enforcement agency's criminal investigation and all related reports, documents, and information for the purposes of the board's review. (d) Once the board receives the final disposition of the law enforcement agency's criminal investigation and all related reports, documents, and information pursuant to subsection (c), the board shall review all matters submitted to evaluate the fairness of the criminal investigation and to determine whether, in the board's opinion, criminal prosecution or further investigation may be warranted. (e) Each law enforcement agency of the State and all of its counties shall cooperate with and assist the board in the performance of its duties, except that the board shall not have access to physical evidence. (f) The board shall expeditiously make recommendations to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the officer-involved death occurred, however, the prosecuting attorney is not required to wait for the recommendation before making a determination to prosecute or decline prosecution. The board's recommendations shall consist of the board's determination that the prosecuting attorney should: (1) Prosecute; (2) Decline prosecution; or (3) Conduct further investigation. The board's recommendations shall not be binding upon the prosecuting attorney and shall have no effect on any determination of probable cause that may be made, at any time. (g) Subject to subsection (h), all matters submitted to the board pursuant to subsection (c) and all proceedings and recommendations of the board shall be confidential. All records, documents, and information in the possession of the board or maintained by the board shall not be subject to discovery or disclosure in any civil or criminal proceedings or to a request for disclosure pursuant to chapters 92 and 92F. The scope of this subsection shall be limited solely to the proceedings and recommendations of the board and any records, documents, and information in the board's possession, and this subsection shall not extend to any records, documents, or information in the possession of another government agency. (h) Once the board has issued the board's recommendations pursuant to subsection (f) and any criminal prosecution or proceedings in the State related to the officer-involved death have been adjudicated, the board shall release the board's recommendations and any accompanying reports, documents, and information, unless otherwise prohibited by law. (i) Nothing in this part shall be construed to create a private right of action. [L 2016, c 161, pt of §1]