Honolulu police arrested two Kalihi men who allegedly tried to steal an aluminum light pole in broad daylight near a busy highway.

A state Department of Transportation spokesman said the pole had already been knocked down by a traffic accident and was lying on sidewalk of the Pali Highway near the Queen Emma Summer Palace Sunday afternoon.

Police said the men, ages 44 and 46, had already loaded the pole into the pickup truck when officers arrived and arrested them on suspicion of second-degree theft at 3:25 p.m.

Dan Meisenzhal, the DOT spokesman, said the pole had been cut into pieces and is now in a state salvage yard.

This is the at least the third time in 12 years that someone has stolen or tried to steal a utility pole, apparently for the scrap metal value, Meisenzhal said.