HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Department of Law Enforcement currently lacks systems for automatic recording and storage of dispatch communications or radio exchanges.
Their officers continue to operate without body-worn recording devices.
These concerns remain unresolved, almost five years following the incident where deputy sheriff Gregory Bergman fatally shot Delmar Espejo, a disabled, unarmed homeless individual carrying alcohol openly on Capitol premises in February 2019.
When Espejo’s relatives filed a lawsuit, both Bergman and the state attempted to claim self-defense, but a judge rejected this argument due to the destruction of evidence that could have verified or disproved their claim.
“All crucial evidence disappeared – body camera recordings, state Capitol surveillance footage, audio communications, and the incident reconstruction video,” explained Terry Revere, representing the Espejo family.
“The state demonstrated complete negligence in maintaining and preserving essential evidence,” Revere stated.
The court imposed penalties on the state after confirming the legal team’s assertion that audio documentation of the shooting had disappeared.
State Attorney General representatives explained that the recording system automatically overwrites itself, and no one preserved the recordings before this occurred.
Additional evidence, including the shooting’s internal investigation report, was “permanently eliminated by Hawaii state authorities,” according to court documents.
Among the penalties, the judge instructed jurors before their deliberation that they could conclude the missing recordings would have supported the Espejo family’s position and contradicted the defense’s claims.
The jury granted Espejo’s family $2.27 million in damages.
“The judge made an appropriate decision,” commented Myles Breiner, another lawyer representing Espejo’s family.
To enhance evidence preservation going forward, the Department of Law Enforcement has invested in new technology.
The DLE described it as “a gradual system upgrade designed to enhance workflow efficiency, improve data retention capabilities, decrease response times and ensure greater accountability.”
The investment includes two consoles totaling $155,000, enabling automatic recording of dispatch calls. However, these recordings have a 24-hour storage limit, requiring manual preservation within this brief timeframe.
DLE indicates efforts to extend this timeframe before system implementation, though the completion date remains uncertain.
DLE mentioned it “cannot specify an exact implementation date” as coordination continues with vendors and partner agencies.
The department is also conducting a review of its internal evidence preservation protocols.
