Office of Information Practices

U Memo 24-10
May 20, 2024
Officer ID Photos

Two media requesters sought the official department photographs of three Honolulu Police Department officers who had shot at a vehicle, killing one vehicle occupant and injuring another, and at the time of the request were facing criminal charges for the shooting.  No mug shots had been taken, as the officers were permitted to appear by summons instead of being arrested.

The identification photographs were subject to the UIPA’s general rule that government records are presumed public but may be withheld to the extent they fall within one of the exceptions set out in section 92F-13, HRS.  HRS § 92F-11(a) (2012).  Considering all the relevant factors, OIP found that in these specific circumstances the public interest in the identification photographs outweighed the officers’ significant privacy interest in those photographs such that the UIPA’s privacy exception did not apply, and concluded that the Honolulu Police Department must disclose the photographs to Requesters.