Procedural Errors

Five-0 and the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) didn't make many mistakes, but they did make some. This page records the most blatant, those that ran far deeper than losing a hubcap from McGarrett’s front right tire. These are the mistakes that could have gotten someone killed or fired.

* Arrest Without Probable Cause. In "Man in a Steel Frame" (Season 9), HPD Lieutenant Matsuda (Terry Plunkett) placed McGarrett under arrest for the murder of Cathi Ryan (Camilla Sparv) before the forensics team investigated the crime scene. Perhaps, they would have found evidence of tampering of the telephone line or McGarrett's police radio. Perhaps, they would have found fingerprints or discharged shell casings. In short, it was foolish to make an arrest before a full investigation had been conducted. Furthermore, it left the HPD wide open for a civil suit for false arrest when McGarrett was found to be innocent of all charges.

* Failure to Disclose. In "Full Fathom Five" (Season 1), Danno discovered that Victor Reese (Kevin McCarthy) kept a bottle of aconite (poisonous capsules). He passed the information on to McGarrett, but he was not shown passing the information on to his undercover agent, Joyce Weber (Patricia Smith). At the end of the episode, when Victor and Nora (Kevin McCarthy and Louise Troy) served Joyce a glass of poisoned champagne, she spilled it in order not to have to drink it. Did McGarrett tell her in a scene that was cut, or did she sense what the Reeses were up to? If he did not tell her, he endangered her life unnecessarily.

* Conflict of Interest. In "Time and Memories" (Season 3), when McGarrett was in the Navy, he met Cathy (Diana Muldaur), who dated him quite amorously only to leave him to marry her fiancé in San Francisco. Years later, when He was at Five-0, Cathy was strongly suspected of murdering her husband. Citing the accumulation of evidence against her, Danno told him that they needed to arrest her. He refused to do so. Further, when Danno suggested that Steve recuse himself on the basis of his personal interest in the case, he refused to do so. In real life, a police officer with a conflict of interest would have been taken off the case.

* Abuse of Power. In "'V' for Vashon,” part 3 (Season 5), after being convicted of second-degree murder, McGarrett continued to use the Five-0 team to investigate his case. He consulted District Attorney John Manicote (Glenn Cannon) about this and was told that he could ask for their assistance. Even so, he took so much of their time that they almost certainly had to let all other Five-0 matters drop. This definitely would not have happened in real life.

* Abandoning His Post. In "Thanks for the Honeymoon" (Season 5), McGarrett made his worst mistake in the twelve years he led Five-0. At a time when he was supposed to ensure that gangster Manola (Lane Bradford) did not reach witnesses Toni (Patty Duke) and Marty (Larry Kert), McGarrett slipped off to catch a little romance with old flame Margo (Carol Lawrence). Accordingly, he was away from his post when Manola's hired man managed to slip cyanide pellets in the heating can on the chaffing dish, killing Marty and seriously injuring Toni. In real life, the top cop would have become the ex-cop. One has to wonder why he wasn't at least called on the carpet by the Honorable Paul Jameson.

* Not Waiting for Backup. In "Hookman" (Season 6), when McGarrett discovered who had been killing HPD officers and leaving M-1 rifles bearing gold plates stamped with each officer's name, he went to the tenement building in search of perpetrator Kurt Stoner (Jay J. Armes). Before going in, he called for backup, but, then, he did not wait for backup to arrive. In the real world, he would be deemed foolish, at best, and guilty of breaking department regulations, as well.

In "A Gun for McGarrett" (Season 7), when McGarrett visited Marni Howard's (Carol White) shop, he was under heavy guard. The entire Five-0 team was with him; however, he entered the shop ahead of the others. Anyone inside with a gun could have killed him on the spot. He should have gone in surrounded by the others. When McGarrett drove to Marni Howard's house for the showdown with her, he expected the bullets she would fire at him to be blanks; after all, he told the owner of the shop where she purchased the gun to fill it with blanks. Still, he could not know that she had not checked the gun, noticed the blanks, and swapped them for live shells. Steve should have let Danno back him up in this approach, for Marni's shot could well have been a fatal one.

* Disregard for Safety. In "Anyone Can Build a Bomb" (Season 6), when several jurisdictions of law enforcement went to Kapiolani Park to dismantle a device to produce an atomic flash, they failed to wear adequate protective gear. After the flash, Steve ordered the HPD to seal off the building. Even though this was a Five-0 operation, the HPD bomb squad, no doubt working with federal authorities, should have ensured that everyone working the situation was properly protected against radiation poisoning.