Maui County settles worker’s suit over Facebook page

Maui County has reached a settlement with a part-time county employee who accused the county of unlawfully interfering with a Facebook page he had established to track the comings and goings of a Maui Police Department traffic officer.

Neldon Mamuad, a part-time employee in County Council member Don Guzman’s office and a volunteer member of the country liquor commission, claimed he was pressured to stop working on the "MAUI­Watch" Facebook page he had created during his personal time.

The Facebook page was originally titled "Taguma­Watch" and was introduced under the premise of keeping track of Maui police officer Keith Taguma, a well-known traffic officer.

According to a news release issued by the county’s Public Information Office on Friday, "Mamuad actively encouraged members of the public to take photos of officer Taguma, whether he was on duty or off, and post them to his page. Comments mocking officer Taguma were then supplied, presumably by Mamuad."

The release — which repeated used the term "harassed" to characterize Mamuad’s alleged actions toward Taguma — claimed that Taguma "felt that people were following him on the streets, which caused him concern for his family’s safety."

Taguma filed a harassment complaint against Mamuad, who was then required to take a cyberbullying awareness class.

Mamuad filed suit against the county in March.

Under terms of the settlement, the county will pay $25,000 in attorney’s fees and damages, amend its anti-harassment policy and strike disciplinary documentation related to the cyberbullying complaint from Mamuad’s personnel file.

In the release, Communications Director Rod Antone said the county was pleased to have reached a compromise but added, "The county remains firm in its stance that Mr. Mamuad should not have been allowed to conduct a personal vendetta against Officer Taguma, then proceed to lie about his intent by saying it was all in the name of the First Amendment."

Mamuad’s attorney, Daniel Gluck of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, was not available to comment on the county’s assertions.

In an early comment to the Associated Press, Gluck said the settlement reaffirms that government employees and volunteers can express themselves without fear of retaliation.

Mamuad released a statement of his own, saying that "hopefully the county has learned its lesson and realized that government cannot use its power to quiet opinions it doesn’t like."