By Lynn Kawano, Hawaii News Now
Published on: Feb. 27, 2026
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - ACLU Hawaii placed four public notices in the Hawaii Classifieds section of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser to notify both current and former Honolulu police officers who have avoided service in a class action lawsuit over wrongful DUI arrests.
Retired Honolulu Police Department officer Darren Cachola and current HPD officer Kelsey Messmer are defendants in the civil case.
The first ad appeared Jan. 27, followed by additional notices on Feb. 3, Feb. 10, and Feb. 17. All four ads notified Cachola and Messmer to appear in court on March 24.
Drivers jailed despite no alcohol detected
The class action lawsuit centers on drivers who were pulled over, accused of driving under the influence, and taken to jail despite having no alcohol detected in their breath tests.
Multiple other defendants in the civil case — including the city and county of Honolulu and other police officers — were served last year. Cachola and Messmer have avoided service since July.
Thousands spent attempting to serve defendants
The ACLU said in a court filing that it has spent more than $4,000 attempting to serve the pair, along with an additional $176.68 in post office mailings. Court filings include pictures of more than a dozen certified mail packages sent to addresses associated with Cachola and Messmer that were returned undeliverable.
The ACLU is seeking reimbursement from for those costs if the two do not appear at the March 24 hearing.
Victor Bakke, a defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor, said the newspaper notices represent a last resort.
“All other attempts to serve have failed,” Bakke said.
Cachola claimed to be overseas, threw retirement party weeks later
Court filings include a text message Cachola sent to a process server in July stating he was in the Philippines “getting medical surgery on my penis” and he would not return until 2026, after recovery. But less than a month later, he threw himself a retirement party in Honolulu.
Bakke said the circumstances do not favor the defendants.
“The appearances are that the people that are being tried to be served are avoiding it,” Bakke said. “And the judge will have no sympathy if they try to come in later and say, I didn’t know.”
Judge outlines potential consequences, broader implications
Retired Circuit Court judge Randal Lee outlined the options available to the court if the officers do not appear on March 24.
“The judge has several recourses,” Lee said. “The judge could issue a default judgment and basically say that the requests made by the ACLU will be granted.”
Lee said the judge could also sanction them for the cost of filing the motion and the cost of the publication in the Star-Advertiser. That cost has not yet been revealed.
“Not following the letter of the law and their obligation to show up at court to comply with court orders, these are the kind of officers that we don’t want on our force,” Lee said.
Trial for the class action DUI lawsuit is scheduled for May 2027.