A former Hawaii Police Department officer indicted this week for intimidating a witness in two high-profile criminal cases has turned himself into police and posted bail.
Brian K. Miller, 56, turned himself in around 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the East Hawaii Detention Facility, according to the Hawaii Police Department. He was arrested and charged per the indictment with intimidating a witness, retaliating against a witness, witness tampering, second-degree terroristic threatening and harassment stemming from a May 14 incident in Hilo.
Miller was released after posting $50,000 bail. His next court appearance is set for Tuesday in Kona Circuit Court before Chief Judge Robert D.S. Kim.
Miller, a retired Hilo Vice detective, was indicted by a Kona grand jury for allegedly intimidating, threatening and/or retaliating against a female witness in a 2019 drug and conspiracy case against himself and in a separate 2019 case filed against another former police officer, Chadwick Fukui, and four civilians related to an illegal gambling operation. The harassment charge lists a male victim but does not state the offense is related to any criminal proceeding.
Intimidating and retaliating against a witness are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years imprisonment while the tampering, threatening and harassment offenses are petty misdemeanors that carry no more than 30 days in jail.
Miller is currently awaiting trial on charges stemming from a May 2019 indictment for allegedly stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker in Hilo back in May 2016.
Miller — who’s also accused of tipping off Triple 7 arcade owners Lance and Stacey Yamada and two others about an Aug. 10, 2017, gambling raid and engaging in a conspiracy to hide or destroy gambling devices — is charged with first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, second- and fourth-degree theft, obstructing government operations, two counts of second-degree hindering prosecution, and four counts of tampering with physical evidence.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 29, 2019. A firm trial date has yet to be set in that case.
