HAWAII
A federal grand jury in Honolulu, Hawaii indicted three former correctional officers — Jason Tagaloa, 29, Craig Pinkney, 36, and Jonathan Taum, 48 — for their roles in assaulting an inmate and trying to cover up the misconduct, officials stated this week.
The inmate was housed at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
The indictment alleges that, on June 15, 2015, defendants Tagaloa, Pinkney, and Taum, along with a fourth correctional officer designated “Officer A,” physically assaulted an inmate in the jail’s recreation yard.
Tagaloa later assaulted the same inmate in a holding cell, and that both assaults resulted in bodily injury.
The indictment further alleges that the defendants and Officer A conspired to cover up their misconduct by engaging in a variety of obstructive acts,
This included concocting a false cover story to justify their use of force along with documenting that false cover story in official reports. They also repeated that false cover story when questioned during the ensuing investigation and disciplinary proceedings arising out of the assault, officials stated.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.