Charges against
cop dismissed
Jerry Gallardo was accused
of sexually assaulting a woman
while on duty
By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.comA Circuit Court judge has dismissed criminal charges against a police officer accused of sexually assaulting a North Shore woman while on duty more than two years ago.
Judge Wilfred Watanabe ruled yesterday that police officer Jerry Gallardo's due process rights were violated because a cassette recording of a conversation that the victim and Gallardo allegedly had shortly after the assaults had been tampered with.
The state produced the tape at trial in November, resulting in the trial being continued.
Watanabe said the tape contained gaps and erasures that could have included statements by Gallardo that proved his innocence.
The FBI examined the tape and ruled it had been deliberately tampered with and recordings made over the original contents, he said.
Watanabe dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the state cannot re-indict him.
Deputy Prosecutor Darrell Wong declined comment on the ruling, saying his office expects to appeal the court's decision.
Watanabe also said police and the prosecutor were negligent in not following up on the existence of the tape. Had they done so, it could have affected the state's decision to prosecute and bring the case before a grand jury and could have prevented the tape from being tampered with, Watanabe said.
The victim had told a detective about a tape, but that the tape recorder had malfunctioned, and was not questioned further on the matter, according to Watanabe.
Gallardo declined comment on the dismissal, but his attorney Daphne Barbee-Wooten said this case shows that police officers are not immune to false accusations.
Barbee-Wooten said the tape apparently was an attempt by the victim to get a statement from Gallardo after she had met with her attorney and a psychologist.
What remained on the tape did not indicate that Gallardo was the person who did the acts she accused him of, Barbee-Wooten said.
"We're glad, pleased with the judge's decision."
A grand jury indicted Gallardo in March 2001 for second-degree sexual assault and six counts of fourth-degree sexual assault.
The assaults allegedly occurred in September 2000 at a North Shore home and the woman reported the incident two weeks later.
At the time of the indictment, Gallardo had been a patrolman for the previous two years, more recently in the Wahiawa district which extends to the North Shore.Gallardo is still with the Honolulu Police Department, Barbee-Wooten said.