Sobriety checkpoints are meant to keep roads safe, but a growing number of lawsuits suggest they may also be sweeping up drivers who never should have been stopped, let alone arrested. Now, a new lawsuit claims the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is using inflated arrest numbers to keep federal money flowing.
“HPD uses its arrest numbers and statistics to justify continued receipt of federal funding for sobriety checkpoints and other OVUII enforcement, receipt of which is conditioned on showing the checkpoints’ efficacy through arrest statistics,” says the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). That’s not just a statement, either; it’s a part of a new lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department. The non-profit civil rights organization represents drivers who were verifiably sober when police arrested them.
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