Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Existence of and validity of police procedures dealing with the community during traffic stops was once again before District Court Judge Fiti Sunia last week, when two men who were pulled over by police officers on traffic matters last month, ended up spending a night at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) because they were not able to produce their identification.

Tualega Time and Thomas Noel both spent one night in prison before making their initial appearances in District Court the following day.

During their appearance in court, District Court Judge Fiti Sunia indicated he was not satisfied with the answers the police officer provided to the court about their cases. As a result, he issued a subpoena to DPS Deputy Commissioner Falanaipupu Taase Sagapolutele to appear in court last week, to clarify procedures for the issuance of traffic ticket.

According to the government’s case, Time and Noel were arrested by two different police officers on two separate occasions on the same day last month, for failure to produce their identifications, after their vehicles were pulled over for traffic violations.

In each case, three traffic citations were issued to each individual, and then each were arrested for failure to produce a form of identification. As a result both men spent a night at TCF to await their initial appearance in District Court the following morning.

The incidents happened on the same day, with both Time and Noel appearing in court, on the same day, both wearing orange jumpsuits and handcuffs for their initial appearances two weeks ago.

Sunia ordered them to be released on their own recognizance after their cases were heard.

Before the two individuals were released, Sunia called the officer who issued the tickets for Time to take the stand, and asked why she put Time in jail after she made the decision to issue him three citations.

The DPS officer told the court that Time was put in jail because he did not have an ID on his possession to identify himself.

Judge Sunia pointed out that this was a violation of Time’s constitutional rights.

“How can a police officer arrest a motorist for no identification on his possession?” Sunia asked the police officer.

The officer was also asked whether there is a procedure for police officers when engaging with the community on public highways. The officer did not answer.

Sunia stated that DPS should have a standard operation guide for police officers on how to conduct their daily duties.

Sunia was not satisfied with the police officer’s answer and continued the hearing until last Thursday. He also subpoenaed the deputy commissioner to appear in court last week.

However, when Time and Noel’s cases was called, Sunia immediately rescheduled the two cases until June 14th, and ordered both men to appear on that day. He then called Falanaipupu to see him in his chambers.

Samoa News understands that the deputy commissioner was asked about what procedures and policies DPS is using when police officers perform their duties on public highways.

BACKGROUND

This is not the first time members of the community have been arrested by police officers and held in TCF for not having identification on them.

In December of last year, a similar case to Time and Noel’s cases was also before Judge Sunia: a police officer held a female driver in prison for two nights, when the driver failed to provide a valid I.D. after her vehicle was pulled over by police officers.

As the result, Sunia then subpoenaed DPS Commissioner Le’i S. Thompson to appear in court to explain DPS procedures for police officers when engaging with the community on public highways. Falanaipupu also appeared along with Le’i for this case.

The female driver in this case was Dorah Su’a, who police pulled over for a broken taillight and no license plate. She subsequently was arrested and spent two nights at TCF for not having a valid ID.

Sunia told Lei and Falanaipupu at the time that due to this case the court has found that there isn’t a policy or set of procedures in place for DPS police officers to guide them during their daily duties.

He also told Lei and Falanaipupu during this hearing that it’s not the court’s job to tell police officers how to do their job. It’s the court duty to make sure the law has been followed.

The judge also told them that it’s not the court’s job to protect the rights of everyone, that’s the duty of a sworn police officer.