District Judge J. Michael Seabright today sentenced former Honolulu Police Officer Vincent Morre, 38, to 30 months in prison for violating the civil rights of two Honolulu men. On May 19, 2015, Morre pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving the two men’s right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer on Sept. 5, 2014.
According to information presented to the court, Morre, then
a 10 year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, was searching for a
fugitive when he entered a game room on Hopaka Street. Once in the game room, Morre, in an
unprovoked attack, kicked J.T. in the head.
Morre then continued to search the game room for the fugitive. On his way out, Morre reapproached J.T. but
first struck F.F. (who was seated next to J.T) in the face twice and then
kicked his chest. Morre then continued
the assault on J.T. by kicking J.T. off his chair. As Morre was leaving the game room, he threw
a metal stool which hit J.T. in the head, requiring three stitches. Five days later, Morre filed a false police
report omitting that he had assaulted J.T. or F.F.
“When this defendant violated the trust of the people he was
sworn to serve, the Department of Justice stood ready to enforce the law and
protect the civil rights of all Americans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.
“This case represents important steps in vindicating the
civil rights of the victims of unreasonable use of force by a law enforcement
officer,” said U.S. Attorney Florence T. Nakakuni of the District of Hawaii.
“The FBI would like to thank the Honolulu Police Department
for its cooperation, assistance, and transparency during this investigation,”
said Special Agent in Charge Paul Delacourt of the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren W.K. Ching of the District of
Hawaii and Trial Attorney Angie Cha of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the
case.
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