Hawai‘i Police Department Vice Section detective found guilty of perjury

A detective with the Hawai‘i Police Department East Hawai‘i Vice Section was found guilty of perjury following a bench trial April 2 in Hilo Circuit Court.

Circuit Court Judge Peter Kubota found William Brown guilty of knowingly making a false statement, under oath, to a grand jury proceeding before the 3rd Circuit Court while employed as a Hawaiʻi County police detective.

He will return May 23 before Kubota in Hilo Circuit Court for sentencing. Perjury is a Class C felony. He faces a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.

Brown has remained on the Hawai‘i Police Department force under suspension since his arrest in December 2023 and throughout his court proceedings.

He has served for more than 20 years with the department and was 2009 Officer of the Year.

Brown became a Vice detective in March 2021 after moving up to detective in May 2016, working several years in the department’s East and West Hawai‘i Criminal Investigation Sections.

The false statement for which he was found guilty of making involved his interview with a suspect in a case where drugs were found in a vehicle.

During the interview, the suspect stated multiple times that the only item she brought into the vehicle with her was her cellphone. The majority of the drugs found in the vehicle were in a black bag that also contained a pink stuffed animal pencil case.

Brown falsely testified to the grand jury that the suspect claimed to have brought her cellphone and the pink stuffed animal case into the vehicle with her.

That testimony, at least in part, led to the defendant’s indictment on felony drug charges for promoting a dangerous drug.

Deputy Hawai‘i Attorney General Albert Cook prosecuted the case.

“Our legal system is designed to find the truth. When witnesses lie, it undermines our legal system and perverts the quest for justice,” said Cook in an announcement about Kubota’s decision in Brown’s case. “The [Hawai‘i] Department of the Attorney General is committed to protecting the integrity of the criminal justice system and will prosecute those who commit perjury.”