Two Honolulu Police Department officers were arrested Friday and charged in federal court with civil rights violations.
John Rabago, 43, and Reginald Ramones, 43, were charged in an indictment unsealed today with one count of conspiring to deprive a person of his civil rights, and one count of acting under color of law to deprive the same individual of his civil rights. Specifically, the indictment alleges that on Jan. 28, 2018, Officers Rabago and Ramones forced a homeless man to lick a urinal.
The officers deny the allegations.
“This is not a complicated case,” Rabago’s defense attorney, Megan Kau said. “This is a case of one man saying that two police officers forced him to a lick a toilet bowl.”
“While this morning’s arrests cast a dark shadow on the department, I ask that the public please continue to support the officers who carry out their daily assignments with courage, integrity, and respect for the public,” Police Chief Susan Ballard said in a statement. “The two officers who were arrested will have their day in court and be held accountable for their actions.”
The indictment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Honolulu Division of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Tim Visser of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Brady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marion Percell also participated in the investigation.
