The director of the Sierra Club of Hawaii is criticizing the state Land Board for approving on Friday the purchase of 30 long firearms for conservation officers.
“It would be extremely irresponsible for the board to approve this request,” said Marti Townsend, director of the environmental nonprofit Sierra Club of Hawaii, wrote in her testimony to the Board of Land and Natural Resources.
On Friday, the board unanimously approved a request by the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement to buy 20 semi-automatic rifles and 10 12-gauge shotguns at a cost of $57,350.
In a letter to the board, the division’s acting enforcement chief, Jason Redulla, said the firearms will protect officers working alone in remote areas and enhance public safety when officers respond to distress calls.
Conservation officers are already armed, and Redulla said the purchase will provide firearms to new hires.
Townsend, however, said to increase officer safety, the division should increase its staff and improve its training.
She said studies show the militarization of law enforcement officers erodes the partnership between officers and the community they are protecting.
She noted the division is the only law enforcement entity in the state dedicated to protecting Hawaii’s natural resources.
“The focus really needs to be on improving the relationship between DOCARE and recreational users,” she said.
Forecasters predict windy weather ahead
A mixed weather pattern will affect the islands early this week due to a front approaching from the northwest, the National Weather Service said.
Light to moderate southeast winds are expected. The front will stall before reaching the islands and then move off to the north early this week.
A new high will build northeast of the islands and bring back locally breezy tradewinds by the middle of the week, the agency said.
Meanwhile, a high-surf advisory was in effect for the east side of Hawaii island until 6 a.m. today. Surf of 5 to 8 feet was forecast for those shores, the weather service said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Nonprofit loses tools in burglary
Maui police are investigating the theft of tools and machinery from the nonprofit Malama Maui Nui base yard in Puunene.
Malama Maui Nui officials believe the burglary happened between Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The organization focuses on beautifying and maintaining Maui’s natural environment.
“Desperate people do desperate things, and we have compassion and empathy for those individuals,” said Executive Director John de Jesus. “We choose to embrace this opportunity to learn, exercise and experience perseverance; for the occasion to reach out and witness kokua from our community in the face of adversity.”
Anyone with information that might lead to the return of the equipment is asked to contact Malama Maui Nui at 877-2524 or email info@cwdhawaii.org.
Driver sentenced in 2013 crash
A woman who crashed her vehicle into oncoming traffic and injured a Kauai man was sentenced Thursday to 30 days in jail.
In addition, the Garden Island reported, Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano sentenced Autumn Day Marshall, 39, to five years of probation and ordered an ignition interlock device to be installed on her vehicle for one year.
“An accident is an accident,” Valenciano said. “I don’t think Mrs. Marshall went out and tried to create an accident intentionally.”
In August, Marshall pleaded no contest to negligent injury in the first degree for attempting to pass another vehicle along Kaumualii Highway near the Kauai Humane Society in March 2013. She then collided with a vehicle going the opposite direction.
