Honolulu prosecuting attorney blasts judge’s decision to drop DUI charge against Rep. Har
By Web Staff
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (KITV) — Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm held a press conference Tuesday afternoon to sound off on his disappointment on the decision to dismiss the drunk driving charge against Hawaii Rep. Sharon Har.
In the press conference, Alm shared what he called “uncontroverted evidence” from the trial, including police bodycam footage and even witness testimony from the bar Har was patronizing before the incident.
Alm said Har was drinking at the AnyPlace Cocktail lounge beforehand and was seen by staff and patrons drinking “four 12-ounce alcoholic beverages.” He also shared Google maps images showing the distance Har traveled after leaving the AnyPlace Cocktail Lounge to where she was eventually pulled over.
According to Alm, police officers saw Har driving down the wrong way on Beretania Street where they say she almost hit a person riding a moped before she was pulled over.
Judge Steven Hartley dismissed the case against Har citing inconsistencies in an officer’s testimony, the defense’s failure to comply with HRPP Rule 12, and a lack of evidence on Har’s blood alcohol content reading. Har refused to take a sobriety test on the night she was arrested.
“Judge Hartley’s decision to grant the defense’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal did not follow the appropriate standard. Inconsistencies in a police officer’s testimony must be resolved in a light most favorable to the Department. In addition, the lack of blood alcohol content evidence should not have factored in to the judge’s decision at all, especially given that Har refused to take a breath or blood test. The Department believes that the evidence presented in this case was more than enough to overcome the defense’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal,” Alm wrote in a press release following the news conference.
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