The Honolulu Police Department said that all damaged driving arrests will be reviewed after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday.

In recent years, Honolulu officials have arrested drivers with “scores” who showed no signs of external damage, performed well on on-site sobriety tests, and often did not drink alcohol in the breathing tests, the lawsuit said.

The ACLU said the department’s “single focus” drives the “single focus” of being arrested for driving due to impact, even if they did not lead to a conviction.

The ACLU said the supervisor gave officials incentives, including telling Night Enforcement officers that if they arrested the DUI, they could go home and would still be paid for the entire transformation, which led to officials taking shortcuts for investigation or no reason to arrest.

The group said police tried to show that police were protecting the public, using arrest numbers to obtain federal funds and meet quotas.

"Each of our clients blows up 0.000. They are not intoxicated. However, they continue to damage their records, reputation, traumatic arrests and illegal detentions," said Jeremy O'Seen, a company attorney who is litigating with Aclu Hawaii. "Our request today is simple: stop arresting innocent people. Stop manipulating the system."

In response, the department said in a statement that “these allegations are taken very seriously” and that officials “had a comprehensive review of all driving arrests dating back to 2021.”

ACLU said that due to Hawaii News investigation, now journalist Lynn Kawano, they are aware of the problem.

The class action represents three plaintiffs arrested and representing hundreds of drivers. The lawsuit requires a judge to declare the Honolulu Police Department’s practices unconstitutional and illegal. It does not seek money loss.

In addition to ongoing review, the three plaintiffs’ cases will be investigated internally, police said: “We are committed to maintaining public trust and we will take appropriate action if any misconduct is found.”

The lawsuit says Honolulu police arrested 127 people from 2022 to 2024, with their blood levels of 0.000 after a breath or blood test, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit says only 15 people received traffic tickets and only three were accused of driving under the influence of drugs.

The lawsuit says the "mode" of Honolulu police is to stop the driver without any problematic driving checkpoints or driving due to illegal acts.

Tanner Pangan is a high school student when an officer was dragging a rainwater in a truck last year when his truck was pulled on a road where rainwater was blowing. "When I was accused of drinking and driving... I was a little surprised because I didn't drink, I didn't take drugs, I had nothing to do, I had nothing to do, I had nothing to do," he told reporters at a virtual press conference.

This is the first time he has been arrested or pulled.

ACLU Hawaii is concerned about the quota that officers are trying to meet. While viewing arrest statistics, the ACLU found a group of arrests at the end of the month. On August 31, 2024, there were three arrests and the breath test showed 0.000 to each other for about 20 minutes at the same location.