Opinion ID: 871589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: April 17, 2008 Incident

Text: The charges against Walker arose out of an incident that occurred on April 17, 2008 in the City and County of Honolulu, State of Hawai#i. At about 11:40 p.m., while assisting at a traffic accident near the corner of Kilani Avenue and North Cane Street in Wahiawa, Honolulu Police Department (HPD) Officer Morgan Hill (Officer Hill) heard “a loud screeching of tires” and an accelerating engine sound come from Walker’s vehicle. Officer Hill observed Walker’s vehicle accelerate at a high rate of speed and, based on his training and experience, believed Walker was driving at a higher rate than the twenty-five mile per hour posted speed limit. “Everything indicated to [Officer Hill] that it was not a safe execution.” Based solely on his observation of 6  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  Walker’s apparent speeding,5 Officer Hill got into his vehicle and pursued Walker at an “extremely high rate of speed” in order to reach him. Officer Hill activated his blue light and Walker pulled over. After stopping Walker’s vehicle and notifying police dispatch of the traffic stop, location, and Walker’s license plate number, Officer Hill approached Walker’s vehicle from the driver’s side. Walker produced a Hawai#i state ID.6 Officer Hill observed that Walker’s eyes were red and glassy and his speech was slurred.7 Officer Hill also noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from Walker’s breath when he spoke.8 Officer Hill asked Walker if he had been drinking and Walker answered “[o]nly about eight or nine beers. I’m okay, and I live just right over there.” Officer Hill testified that Walker’s reported alcohol 5 During cross-examination, Officer Hill conceded that apart from the speeding violation, he did not observe Walker breaking any other rules: “his headlights were on[,]” “he was not weaving[,]” “he was not swerving[,]” “he was not drifting in[,]” “he was driving in his own lane[,]” “he did not cross the center line[,]” “he did not strike anything[,]” “he did not almost strike anything[,]” and “he [did not] drive off the road[.]” 6 Walker was unable to produce a valid drivers license. Walker’s license was revoked from November 10, 2006 to November 9, 2008, which included the night of the instant offense, April 17, 2008. 7 During cross-examination, Officer Hill conceded that there are many reasons a person’s eyes may be red outside of alcohol consumption. 8 During cross-examination, Officer Hill acknowledged that based on smell alone, one cannot determine how much alcohol has been consumed. Furthermore, it is possible for an individual to consume alcohol hours earlier and not be intoxicated, but still smell of alcohol. 7  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  consumption did not factor into his decision to arrest Walker. He stated, “I really didn’t want to base my arrest on anything, other than how [Walker] was going to perform the field sobriety exercise. At that point when I was able to determine whether I believed him to be impaired or not, then, I would make a judgment on whether or not to arrest, because anybody can say anything.” At this time, Officer Hill also noticed an open, “sweating” beer bottle located in the center console of Walker’s vehicle.9 Based on the totality of this information, Officer Hill believed Walker could be impaired from alcohol consumption. Accordingly, Officer Hill asked Walker if he was willing to participate in a standardized field sobriety test (SFST) and Walker consented.10 At the time of the incident, Officer Hill had been employed by HPD for thirteen years and, during that time, he handled several hundred OVUII cases “either as the initial officer or[,] at the very least, as a participating officer of some sort.” As part of his training with HPD, Officer Hill was trained to conduct and evaluate SFSTs. As part of the SFST 9 Officer Hill recovered the open beer bottle and submitted it as evidence for analysis. 10 Officer Hill testified during cross-examination: “[o]nce I had made my observations and decided that I had reasonable suspicion that there was a possibility [Walker] had been operating the vehicle under the influence, then, I asked him to step out for the SFST[.]” 8  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  education, Officer Hill received classroom and workshop training to administer and evaluate the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test,11 the “walk and turn” test, and the “one-leg-stand” test. Officer’s Hill’s SFST training was conducted in accordance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards. After Walker consented to participate in the SFST, Officer Hill “asked him if he was wearing contacts, if he was on any medication, if he was epileptic, diabetic, had [an] artificial eye, fake leg, was under the care of a doctor or dentist at that time[,]” or “had any physical defect or speech impediments[.]” Walker indicated that he had no medical condition.12 Officer Hill explained to Walker that his ability to follow instructions would be included in Officer Hill’s evaluation of the SFST. Officer Hill administered the HGN and “walk and turn” portions of the field sobriety exercise in accordance with his training and NHTSA standards. The HGN test revealed that Walker exhibited equal eye tracking and equal pupil size but lacked smooth pursuit in both eyes, in both directions. Also, Walker 11 The HGN test measures involuntary movement (i.e. “jerkiness”) in the eyes as related to alcohol consumption, motor skill, and muscle impairment. 12 Later, however, Walker refused to participate in the one-leg-stand portion of the SFST claiming that he had a rod in his left thigh. 9  FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER  showed “heavy nystagmus” prior to forty-five degrees. During the walk and turn test, Walker misstepped, or had space in between his heel and toe, on two of the first nine steps and raised his arms during several steps.13 Walker refused to take the one-legstand portion of the SFST.