Police officer accused
of evidence tampering
HILO » A Big Island police officer has been suspended for allegedly tampering with evidence connected with a Kona case in which a policeman in a car struck and killed a pedestrian, Hawaii County sources confirmed.
The incident involves a Feb. 15 collision in which a police car driven by officer Bryan Ellis struck and killed pedestrian Gregory Pluta Jr. on Alii Drive while he and other officers were responding to a public disturbance south of Kailua-Kona.
A police statement at the time said Pluta was "on the southbound lane" and the officers were making a "non-urgent response" to the disturbance.
Police later said Pluta's blood-alcohol level was 0.113 percent, well above 0.08 percent, which is the legal maximum for automobile drivers. Pluta also had anti-convulsion medication in his system, police said.
The investigation into both incidents is continuing.
The law allows for administrative action against an officer for up to one year from the date of the alleged offense, and there is a two-year statute of limitations on misdemeanor evidence tampering, said Lincoln Ashida, Hawaii County's civil litigation attorney.