Police documents show lawmaker allegedly denied taking prescription drugs in DUI arrest

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    O’ahu, Hawaii (KITV) — UPDATE 02/26/2021 1:36 p.m.

Newly released police records show House Representative Sharon Har refused to take a breath or blood test before she was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence Monday evening.

In the report, the first officer on scene saw Har’s 2019 Mercedes in the center lane on South Beretaina Street positioned in the wrong direction of the one-way street.

Through the public address system, the officer directed her to pull into the nearby Territorial Savings Bank parking lot.

The officer reported that when he approached the driver’s side of the vehicle, he could smell alcohol at about ‘3-4 feet away’ and her speech was ‘slightly slurred’ and she had ‘great difficulty’ in producing her car and insurance cards.

When she was asked to take a Standardized Field Sobriety Test she refused and allegedly said ‘just take me in’. In an injury assessment, Har allegedly told officers that she was not taking any prescription medicines.

In the process of her arrest an officer reported that she expressed that she was embarrassed and asked the officer, ‘don’t you know who I am.’ She screamed that officers were hurting her when placing handcuffs on her and stopped and said ‘black lives matter.’

When transported to Honolulu Police Department headquarters, the report says she asked the officer if he knew who she was and related that she was going to be governor one day but ‘this’ would mess up her plans.

The intake officer’s report said that while doing paperwork, Har would interrupt and told him that she was responsible for the ‘interlock’ to be implemented in Hawaii.

Sharon Har was released on $500 bail and is scheduled to make a court appearance on April 20.

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UPDATE 02/23/2021 5:35 p.m.

Statement from House Representative Sharon Har re: arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence on Feb. 22, 2021:

I have had an upper respiratory illness for several weeks now. As a result, I have been taking prescribed cough medication with codeine to control the symptoms associated with my illness.

On February 22, 2021, after a late evening at work, I had a beer with my dinner. This, in conjunction with my medication, contributed to my impaired driving.

I am extremely sorry for not anticipating the effect of this combination on my driving. I deeply apologize to my constituents, friends, family and colleagues, and to the public for this failure on my part. I would like to express my gratitude to the officers of the Honolulu Police Department for the professional manner in which they conducted their duty in effecting my arrest.

Above all, I am grateful that no one was hurt.

Sincerely,
Sharon Har

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An O’ahu lawmaker was arrested for driving under the influence Monday night after she allegedly drove in the opposite direction on a one-way street.

Honolulu police arrested 52-year-old Sharon Har for suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.

Hara was arrested at 10:20 p.m. Monday evening on Beretania Street near Piikoi Street.

She was released on a $500 bail. She is scheduled to make a court appearance on April 20.

Har represents District 42 covering the Kapolei and Makakilo area.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Scott Saiki released a statement writing:

“This is an unfortunate incident. We are wishing Representative Har and her family the best right now.”

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