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HONOLULU POLICE OFFICER PLEADS GUILTY TO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Honolulu police officer pleaded guilty today to charges that he beat an individual who was in custody at the Central Receiving Division of the Honolulu Police Department, the Justice Department announced.

In June 1999, a grand jury indicted A.C. Brown, along with four other police officers, for conspiring to obstruct justice and depriving an individual of his rights in connection with the August 5,1995, beating of arrestee Richard Doolin. The indictment alleged that Brown and the other officers kicked and assaulted Doolin after he was transferred to the Central Receiving Division from the Pearl City station.

"Wearing a uniform does not give any individual the right to break the law or violate the rights of someone in police custody," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We will not hesitate to prosecute officers who cross the line and injure those they are sworn to protect."

Brown faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment.

Brown is the third officer to plead guilty to charges stemming from the 1995 incident. On July 21, 1999, David Chun pleaded guilty to 3 counts and was sentenced to 51 months in prison. On June 3, 1999, William Duarte pleaded guilty to a two count information and was sentenced to 12 months of incarceration. The three other officers are awaiting trial.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the cooperation of the Honolulu Police Department, and is being prosecuted by the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department.

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