Woman charged with assaulting officer with picket sign during protest in Waikiki

A 28-year-old woman was charged with assaulting a police officer with a picket sign during a protest Saturday in Waikiki.

Police said the McCully woman took a sign from a picketer fronting a Waikiki hotel and struck the officer in the face with it when he attempted to retrieve the sign about 7 a.m.

The officer sustained injuries and felt pain from the incident.

Police arrested the woman about 45 minutes later near Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue near Kapahulu Avenue for investigation of first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer.

The woman was charged Saturday afternoon with misdemeanor second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and was released after posting $250 bail.

Police said the woman was not part of the protest. Police and a hotel worker did not have information on what the protest was about.