Four Hawaii cops busted in connection with 2021 crash

Four Honolulu police officers have been charged in connection with a 2021 traffic collision that injured six people, authorities said.

The officers are identified as Joshua Nahulu, Erik Smith, Jake Bartolome, and Robert Lewis, according to charging documents. All four are facing felony charges.

Nahulu was charged with collisions involving death or serious bodily injury, a class B felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, KITV reports.

Smith, Bartolome, and Lewis were each charged with first-degree hindering prosecution, and conspiracy to commit hindering a prosecution (a first-degree misdemeanor). They face up to five years in prison if convicted for the class C felony, and up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor.

The crash occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2021 on Farrington Highway, the report said.

The four officers were responding to a noise complaint at Maili Beach Park when they saw a white Honda sedan exit a parking lot onto Farrington Highway and initiated a pursuit.

The Honda at around 3:45 a.m. crashed at a private property, injuring six people, some of them critically, the report said.

The four officers are accused of driving past the crash scene and pretending they were not aware the collision occurred when they were summoned to the crash scene, the report said.

Smith, Bartolome, and Lewis didn’t mention the events that led up to the collision in their police reports.

“The charges against these four officers are the result of an exhaustive investigation and review of the evidence. These charges demonstrate that it is important to seek justice even when those believed to have committed crimes are the very people we expect to uphold the law,” Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said in a news release obtained by the television station.

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