HPD Prioritizes Traffic Enforcement on Maunakea

The Hawai‘i Police Department (HPD) continues ramped up traffic enforcement on Mauna Kea, efforts that began on Aug. 15, 2019.

Police assigned to be in place for the TMT protestor blockade and encampment on Mauna Kea Access Road near the intersection with Daniel K. Inouye Highway have issued 630 traffic violations and arrested nine suspects for 16 offenses in the last week, according to an HPD press release.

During the enforcement, police located a stolen vehicle and arrested two suspects for the offense. The 630 citations were categorized as follows:

• Speeding (289)
• Excessive Speeding (5)
• Seatbelt (51)
• Child Restraint (10)
• Cellular Phone/Electronic device (3)
• Tint (11)
• No Driver’s License (17)
• No Insurance (25)
• Unsafe vehicle (13)
• Other moving violation (14)
• No License plate (22)
• Regulatory (169)
• Parking (1)

The 16 arrested offenses were categorized as follows:

• Driving under the Influence of Intoxicants (2)
• Contempt warrants (9)
• Driving without an operator license (2)
• No insurance (1)
• Theft 2 (2)

On Tuesday, Aug. 27 at approximately 4 p.m., an off-duty officer spotted a stolen van turning up Daniel K. Inouye Highway from the highway 190 junction in South Kohala and promptly relayed this information, the release said.

Upon receiving this tip, TMT-assigned officers conducting traffic enforcement strategically positioned themselves on Daniel K. Inouye Highway to intercept the vehicle and subsequently observed the stolen 2018 Dodge van to turn into Gilbert Kahele Recreational area.

A traffic stop was conducted resulting in the 30-year-old female driver and 22-year-old female passenger being arrested for the offense of Theft 2. The 30-year suspect was also arrested for an outstanding $1,000 bail bench warrant. The stolen vehicle had been located and suspects arrested before the owner arrived at the Kona police station to formally initiate the report.

The combined total of the two-week-long Daniel K. Inouye Highway enhanced traffic enforcement efforts by the Hawaiʻi Police Department stands at 1,240 citations issued and 16 persons arrested for 29 offenses, HPD said. The effort will continue for the duration of the ongoing protest situation to promote the safety of motorists and pedestrians alike.