Brandon Saffeels
Ex-cop facing federal charge
A federal wire fraud charge has been lodged against a former Maui police officer who allegedly solicited sex from a woman in exchange for him “sabotaging” the woman’s pending DUI case, federal court records show.
A court date for Brandon Charles Saffeels has not been scheduled yet, said a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney District of Hawaii Office in Honolulu on Monday afternoon. Saffeels’ attorney Victor Bakke on Oahu had no comment and said Saffeels was not in custody.
If convicted, Saffeels faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The charge stems from an incident between July 25 and July 28, 2019, when Saffeels, then a 35-year-old Maui police officer, exchanged a number of text messages and phone calls with the female victim. He allegedly solicited sex in exchange for providing false and faulty testimony in the woman’s pending criminal trial and sabotaging the state’s case, federal records show.
Then Saffeels attempted to hide, conceal and cover up his misconduct and the nature and circumstances of his relationship with the woman by lying to federal law enforcement officers, who were questioning him about the alleged solicitation, the records said.
The federal documents said that in a phone call with the woman, Saffeels said: “Maybe a little bit of bad intentions . . . Maybe just a small kine bad intentions . . . You just want a hug. You need to cry on someone’s shoulder. Crying makes you feel better.”
Maui police said Monday afternoon that Saffeels “services
were terminated” on Nov. 22.
In August 2019, police charged Saffeels with attempted perjury, attempted first-degree hindering prosecution and witness tampering after the woman reported the officer sent her text messages and called her after arresting her for DUI in the early morning hours of July 25, 2019.
In September 2019, Bakke questioned the state’s case, noting that Saffeels had his $50,000 bail bond released when he was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Wailuku District Court. Bakke said the prosecutors failed to file any charges and noted there wasn’t even a court hearing.
He also questioned the victim’s credibility in the case and said “our position is these charges never should have been filed.”
Because federal law enforcement took over the prosecution of the case, Maui County prosecutors couldn’t file charges against Saffeels. Hawaii law precludes dual prosecution if federal officials have jurisdiction, officials from the county prosecutor’s office said last year.
■