Ex-HPD worker fights charges
Sharon Black says she had approval to access city medical data
A former Honolulu Police Department outreach worker accused of printing highly sensitive records from the city Medical Examiner's office said she believed she had permission to do so and that she returned the copies the next day as requested.
Sharon Black, 47, who was indicted in August for tampering with government records, unauthorized computer access and fourth-degree theft, took the stand yesterday in Circuit Judge Marcia Waldorf's courtroom seeking to have the charges dismissed.
The defense argues that her conduct did not threaten or harm the community and did not reach a level that the Legislature contemplated when it passed laws for tampering with government documents and unauthorized computer access.
Black, a longtime advocate for the mentally ill and homeless, said she had been granted permission by the previous chief medical examiner to research suicides and make copies of records at the Iwilei facility and felt this time was no different.
But prosecutors say she showed a "willful and blatant disregard" for security procedures followed at the Medical Examiner's office by not only printing copies of the files, but also making Xerox copies of the documents before returning them.
Waldorf will rule on Black's request after hearing oral arguments from both parties Dec. 15.
Black said she obtained permission in July 2005 from current Chief Medical Examiner Kanthi De Alwis to continue her research on suicides. On the first day of her research, she was told she could not print off the computer she was assigned to. "I took it to mean that this computer didn't have printing capability," Black said.
When she returned again on Aug. 4, 2005, Black said she printed copies of the files she viewed because she was allowed to use another computer from which she had previously printed copies.
Black said she printed the copies in full view of other staff and that they even assisted her when the printer wasn't working properly.
She said she was "shocked" when the secretary called her later that afternoon and instructed her to return the copies. When she returned the documents the next day, she said she apologized for the misunderstanding and believed it was resolved.
But Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said an HPD documents expert who examined the documents Black returned to the Medical Examiner's has indicated that they were copies of the original or had been recopied.
When he asked Black where the originals and copies were, Black said that he should ask De Alwis' secretary. "I gave everything back to her," Black said.
Dr. Alvin Omori, the former city medical examiner, has denied giving Black authorization to print out confidential files or remove them from the facility, Van Marter said.
During questioning by Deputy Public Defender Tommy Otake, Black said she was "extremely sensitive" to the confidential nature of the information she was dealing with and would not do anything to violate the privacy interests of the decedents.
She said the purpose for her research was to assist police in more effectively dealing with mentally ill individuals who may be suicidal.
Black contends that the criminal charges were in retaliation for a sexual harassment lawsuit she filed nearly a decade ago against an assistant police chief and the department. The city settled with Black for $500,000.