Man accused of harassing monk seal sues over police beating
The man accused of harassing a monk seal and whose beating during the incident at the hands of a Honolulu police officer was captured on video is suing the city, the police chief and the officer.
Lawyers for Jamie Kalani Rice filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court Wednesday against Officer Ming Wang, Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha and the city.
The lawsuit claims that the defendants violated his constitutional and legal rights and privileges when Wang used his police-issue baton to beat Rice Sept. 11, 2014, at a beach in Nanakuli.
The video was shot by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration volunteers who told police that Rice, 41, was harassing the endangered monk seal at the beach park.
Rice, of native Hawaiian ancestry, said he believed the seal was sick and never meant harm or ill will toward it. He said that he was chanting and sharing his mana, or energy, by rubbing sand on himself and tossing the sand into the air, to heal the seal.
Rice claims in his lawsuit that the beating was unjustified because he at no time posed a threat, resisted, threatened or struck Wang.
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11 responses to “Man accused of harassing monk seal sues over police beating”
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The police officer needs help…in a BIG way. Sick puppy and a real PIG!
he should’ve just handcuffed him right away..dunno why it took so long..now it looks like it was excessive force being used
Unreal that our tax dollars go to pay this nut who cannot control himself. Its a shame that the tax payers are going to loose even more when the guy wins the lawsuit. This cop needs to be held personally liable for this – not the tax payers. What a sick cop!
livinginhawaii. That’s what is wrong with America. We have too many rights. In Iraq, he would have been stoned at dusk.
See a doctor.
Typical America. All they want is their rights without accepting the responsibility that goes along with it.
Rice was throwing sand at the Monk Seal, then he refused to stop when he was ordered by the officer. If an officer tells you to stop, you better or you will be made to stop, and that is what happened to Rice. It wasn’t pretty, it was hard to watch, but Rice clearly continued when the officer was telling him to stop.
way too much brutality, why didn’t he just cuff him and call for backup instead of trying to break his legs.
Some kid was throwing sand at another kid. Go mace um and break his wrist with a bat. Sand throwing is harassment? If they had let Rice continue, the seal would have attack him and bit him. Sue Wang Fu Tu.
“Rice, of native Hawaiian ancestry, said he believed the seal was sick and never meant harm or ill will toward it. He said that he was chanting and sharing his mana, or energy, by rubbing sand on himself and tossing the sand into the air, to heal the seal.”
Did he come up with that on his own or was that a line his money hungry lawyer fed him? Any actual Native Hawaiian religious practitioners on here that can chime in or vouch that what Rice was doing was a legit way of practicing?
The baton was not necessary. Wait for back up and then use control technics to take him down and handcuff. He fights, then use the baton..no problem then…