HONOLULU (KHON2) — The father and son who claim they were mistakenly targeted and beaten during an island-wide manhunt on New Year’s Day 2024 are still waiting for their day in court. They filed a lawsuit against the city and individual officers, alleging police brutality.
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It has been nearly a year since Tavita Cadiente and his father, Vao Mataele, filed a federal civil lawsuit seeking justice for what they say was police brutality and excessive use of force by Honolulu Police Department (HPD) officers, who were closing in on suspect Sidney Tafokitau.
Their attorney, Michael Rudy, expressed frustration with the slow pace of the investigation.
“Extremely frustrated, and I think the message is that this case is bigger than just involving our clients. This really concerns the integrity of the process,” Rudy said.
In the lawsuit, Cadiente and Mataele claim they were targeted while walking toward the University area after witnessing a police chase and hearing gunshots. The lawsuit alleges that Cadiente was pinned under a police van and then beaten by plainclothes officers.
“The son is still undergoing rehab, and he’s lost a lot of time at work. He wants to heal physically and mentally, and he’s still in that process,” Rudy said.
Cadiente and Mataele are seeking compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress. They also demand a complete retraining of HPD procedures for handling high-speed chases.
“I would hope, at a minimum, there would be some training in communication for these types of events because, obviously, it was sorely lacking,” Rudy said. “It’s lucky there weren’t two innocent bystanders killed, along with the public, who were going up and down University Avenue when shots were being fired.”
Prosecutors said they’ve received the findings from the police but are still reviewing the report.
“We have received the information, but the investigation is not quite finished,” said Steve Alm, Prosecuting Attorney.
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There is no word yet on when a decision about possible charges will be made. The trial has been postponed until 2026.
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