Maui Government Terrorism and the Commissioners who Aid and Abet It

As I announced I would in the previous post, I commenced demonstrating with two simple posters on October 10 for several hours every other day at various high-traffic sites, just like politicians and various interest groups do – except, unlike those, I was at all times in strict compliance with ordinances regulating this common activity -- ordinances that politicians and others routinely violate.

One poster announced my blog URL: SueMauiTyrants.com.

The other poster said: Police Chief Phillips is a Crack Dealer and Child Molester.

In a small box at the bottom were the words "I swear this is true under penalty of perjury."

I stood with the signs in areas where lots of people drive slowly by. This gives me a large potential eyeball count and gives them plenty time to read the signs without risking an accident.
Predictably the Maui cops used their usual unlawful tactics in attempts to bully me into leaving the scenes because they believe my words are dangerous weapons. It's not about enforcing the law; it's about controlling and censoring political speech. The following are some of the ploys they used this time and routinely use if they object to a demonstrator's signs. Each is followed by my replies and comments.

Cop -- Show me your identification and tell me your Social Security number or I will arrest you.
KB – I don't have to show you anything because there is no reason to suspect that I am committing a crime.

Cop – Show me your identification or identify yourself. What is your name?
KB – There is no law that requires pedestrians to carry ID or to identify themselves.

Cop – You're obstructing the sidewalk. You have to leave or you will be arrested.
KB – I'm standing on a tiny area about one foot wide on the far edge of the sidewalk away from the road. And there's hardly any foot traffic. Who did I obstruct? (Just then four kids zoomed by us on skateboards, obviously unobstructed. I looked at him and smiled. Attracted by the altercation the kids wandered back toward us and I asked them to stick around and witness the likely police brutality and unlawful arrest about to take place. Passers-by were also watching. I believe these witnesses prevented the abuse and arrest I was anticipating.)

Cop – It's against the law to say false things about people.
KB – No it's not. Chief Phillips can sue me if he wants to, but I am not committing any crime.

Cop – We got a complaint about your sign. It's our job to do something about it.
KB – Just like the old KGB, huh?
Cop – What?
KB – Never mind.

Cop – You can't say stuff like that on a sign.
KB – As long as it's not threatening I can say anything.

Cop – How long have you been on Maui?
KB – None of your business.
Cop – (Insisting) How long have you been on Maui? (Flustered, he repeats the question several times, louder each time.)
KB -- That has nothing to do with anything. What does it matter?
Cop – (In exasperation) That's the trouble with you guys. You come over here, you been here one month and think you just can say whatever you want. (Note: This attitude is not inspired by racism but by extreme provincialism and localism. I'm Caucasian and grew up in Hawaii, but I lost the pidgin long ago, so I'm often suspected of not being local enough. There is an element of ethnic profiling for newcomers, be they whites, blacks, browns or Asians, so if you don't look or sound local enough you are more likely to be hassled. Ironically, it's even worse, as it always has been, for those who are the poorest and the most kanaka, i.e. descended from Hawaiian commoners. )

KB – How long does a person have to be here before his constitutional rights kick in?
Cop – (Long silence, then he changes the subject) Why are you demonstrating where there's so much traffic?
KB – (To myself) Duuuuhhh!! (Then to cops) I'll be doing this all over the island in coming weeks. If you look in the law books and find the law that makes it a crime to do anything I'm doing just show me and I will cease and desist.

After a half hour of this comical inquisition they left.

We need a new federal law. It is a crime to impersonate a police officer. It should also be a crime, a federal felony, for police officers to intentionally or negligently misrepresent the law in attempts to manipulate, indimidate and threaten people into surrendering their constitutional rights.

Outrageous as these confrontations were, at least I did not get arrested these times, and the hassle and stress I endured from them is nothing compared to the pain and terror caused by unlawful arrests and brutality that many are subjected to while in custody. There is no point in complaining to the Maui Police Commission about any of it. The Commissioners know very well what goes on and have refused for years to do anything about it. Their job is to provide a pretense that there is oversight of police conduct and discipline or prosecution for misconduct and criminal behavior. They are white-washers of police misconduct and crimes, engaged in a massive cover up. Until the Commissioners do their duties, including firing Chief Phillips, they are willing participants in the ongoing Maui government terrorism. As such, they are legitimate targets of political protest.

What can political gossipers and public protesters say about these people? Anything they want to say. Nothing they say could be as harmful as the perjury decriminalization policy, the police brutality and other violations of constitutional rights that the Commissioners refuse to put a stop to and thereby, in essence, aid and abet. Therefore, any non-threatening words constitute protected speech, and most emphatically so if they are mock sworn testimony, which makes them political satire.

For example, a sign might say, in large lettering:
Police Commissioner Andrew Bayron is an Ice Addict & Kingpin

A small note is added:

I swear this is true under penalty of perjury.

I don't know whether this gossip is true, but who cares? He doesn't care about the fate of those who fall into the hands of Maui's Finest Torturers who he is supposed to watchdog. Why should I shed a tear if people spread rumors about him?

The members of the Maui Police Commission are:

Andrew P. Bayron – Chair
Doreen N. Gomes – Vice Chair
Keone Ball
Verna Boonstra
Sean M. Connolly
Leil Koch
John Ornellas
Tina Pedro
Mark Redeker

Maui's future foretold:  Barbarians In Paradise -- Terror Comes to Maui. This is a prophetic flash novel about a future police state and those who rebel against it. Available in paperback and ebook at Amazon.com.

Links to all my blogs: www.KurtButlerblogs.blogspot.com 

For more detailed critiques of various forms of quackery, including naturopathy, see my book A Consumer’s Guide to “Alternative Medicine”.  It was expertly edited by legendary quack buster Stephen Barrett. MD. 

The critics say:

"Superb!" -- Dr. Victor Herbert in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Excellent" -- National Council Against Health Fraud.

"Five Stars" -- Cooking Light.

"Thought provoking; a great book" -- American Journal of Health Promotion.

 When the book was published almost 30 years ago it was strongly praised by responsible health experts and the rare responsible media, but trashed by new-age critics and even vandalized in bookstores by new-age fanatics. It is as true and relevant as ever, and has been mostly vindicated by time. Yet my courageous and far-sighted publisher, the venerable Prometheus Books, is still sitting on lots of copies. Please help validate their integrity by buying a copy. Or two or more as gifts. Perhaps 10 for your local school library and health classes. See their website for assorted discounts. Make them an offer. (My royalties are insignificant; this little promo is for the benefit of one of the world's great publishers, Prometheus Books.) 

Maui's future foretold: Barbarians In Paradise -- Terror Comes to Maui. This is a prophetic flash novel about a future police state and those who rebel against it. Available in paperback and ebook at Amazon.com.