By Lynn Kawano
Published: Oct. 5, 2026 at 5:53 PM HST
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Honolulu Police Commission has approved a request from former HPD sergeant Darren Cachola for an attorney funded by taxpayers to defend him in a civil lawsuit over DUI arrests.
The commission debated the request for several weeks before agreeing.
Cachola was the ranking officer on Nov. 7, 2023, at a DUI roadblock when Ammon Fepuleai was stopped. An officer told Fepuleai he detected the odor of alcohol. But a breathalyzer test at the scene showed Fepuleai had no alcohol in his system.
Fepuleai and several other drivers arrested for DUI filed a class-action lawsuit through the ACLU Hawaii accusing the department and the officers of violating their right to due process and probable cause.
All the officers named had already been granted taxpayer-funded attorneys. Only Cachola had to fight for it.
Attorney says officer covered under protection
Victor Bakke, a defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor, said, “He’s a police officer. He was a sworn officer at the time. The allegations alleged that he was acting within his duty.”
It took several weeks of discussion before the commissioners agreed.
Cachola has a history of questionable conduct as a police officer. He was fired in 2014 after a video surfaced of him and an ex-girlfriend fighting in a Waipahu restaurant. He got his job back, then in 2019 was arrested for domestic violence. That case was never charged.
Most recently, HPD confirmed it was looking into Cachola’s excessive overtime claims right before he retired in 2025.
Bakke said, “He may have a history. He may not be liked by the department. He may not even be liked by the community. But in this particular case, as long as he was at least within the circle of acting within his responsibility, then he has to be defended.”
A trial date for the civil lawsuit has been set for May 2027.
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