The first of the wind farm parts left the Kalaeloa area Wednesday bound for Kahuku as police officers kept protesters off the roadway.
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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Noah Townsend, on the ground at left, sat with a fellow protester Wednesday to block the access route for the trucks carrying wind turbine parts to Kahuku.
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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Stetson “Mana” Morales talked about his experience after he chained himself to a gate Tuesday.
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ANDREW GOMES / AGOMES@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kahuku wind farm protester Kent Fonoimoana was released from the Kahuku police station Wednesday.
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Several people who have been arrested in Kahuku for obstructing the delivery of wind turbine parts this week have said that they were treated with the utmost care and respect by arresting officers. But not everyone.
A total of 111 arrests have been made over the past week as protesters attempted to block Virginia-based AES Corp. from building eight wind turbines in Kahuku. The protesters have slowed the overnight delivery of wind turbine parts from Kalaeloa to Kahuku but not halted them. Construction of the turbines has begun, and the company expects to begin operating the wind farm next year.
Two protesters said they were mistreated by officers during their arrests.
Stetson “Mana” Morales, 19, who chained himself by the neck to a gate in Kalaeloa on Sunday night, said officers punched him repeatedly and used a Taser on him while he was still chained to the gate.
Kent Fonoimoana, 62, a former president of the Kahuku Community Association who has been opposing the wind farm for over a decade, said an officer grabbed four of his fingers — two from each hand bound together behind his back — and began twisting them to a point where it was painful.
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The Honolulu Police Department denied Morales’ allegations Thursday and said it is looking into Fonoimoana’s case.
“There is no record of any Taser being used in any form on Mr. Morales or any of the individuals arrested at Kalaeloa or Kahuku,” said acting Police Chief John McCarthy at a news conference at police headquarters. McCarthy also denied Morales was punched.
Morales said in an interview Wednesday that older officers were watching over him at first and were respectful Sunday night when he was chained to the gate, but then two younger officers took over.
He said one of the younger officers started punching him in the ribs and back. The officer then asked if he wanted to walk to the police cruiser, but he declined and joked that the officer’s punches were soft, Morales said.
That’s when, Morales said, the officer pressed his Taser against his body and used it like a stun gun, giving him a jolt while the chains were still around his neck.
“It was painful and it hurt, but hearing everybody chanting and singing, it gave me more mana,” said Morales, who turned 19 on Wednesday.
He said it felt “like all your muscles engage and are flexing at the same time. You feel like passing out.”
The police took Morales to The Queen’s Medical Center West, where he said he spoke to a doctor. “I just wanted to get bailed out, so I refused a checkup,” Morales said. He added that he has a condition that prevents his body from producing adrenaline.
At the HPD news conference, McCarthy showed a video taken by a police camera of Morales being cut free from the gate. Officers placed a blanket over his head to prevent any injury during the cutting process. McCarthy said none of the officers who were with Morales carried Tasers, although other officers at the scene, including bicycle officers, do.
McCarthy said the teen was taken to the hospital because he had a pre-existing medical condition and not because he was injured by a Taser or assaulted by police. He was examined, and there was no evidence of any injuries from a Taser or from being punched.
Morales was asked several times, and at no time did he ever say he was sick or complain of any injuries, McCarthy said.
On Wednesday night two protesters were arrested at Kalaeloa. Two more were arrested in Kahuku on Thursday morning.
The trucks carrying wind turbine parts left Kalaeloa at about 11:40 p.m. and arrived in Kahuku at 2:30 a.m.
In Kahuku, close to 100 demonstrators of the Na Pua Makani wind farm were peacefully met by a roughly equal number of police officers at the entrance to the project site.
The demonstrators are opposed to the wind farm, saying it is too close to homes and a school, can have adverse health affects and is known to kill the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat.
One of the arrested Kahuku protesters was Fonoimoana, who complained about mistreatment by one HPD officer during his arrest, and said he plans to file a complaint with the Honolulu Police Commission.
“Getting arrested is not supposed to be pleasant, and I understand that,” he said. “But if somebody is complying (with police) orders, they should not be disrespected, and they certainly should not be assaulted.”
Instead of lying or sitting on the ground and forcing officers to carry him, Fonoimoana stood calmly waiting for his hands to be to zip-tied behind his back, and complimented one officer for binding the ties fairly loose.
“I said I was going to make it easy for them,” Fonoimoana said. “I was complying with every order. Before they even asked me to put my hands behind my back, I had my hands behind my back.”
But before he got into the police van headed for the Kahuku police station, Fonoimoana said, an officer grabbed several fingers and twisted them.
That, Fonoimoana said, led him to wince and complain in a reaction that sparked other officers to get involved with what he said should have been a casual placement into the van.
After the ride to the police station, Fonoimoana suggested the officer work on his handcuffing technique, which touched off an exchange of mild but antagonistic words between the two, according to Fonoimoana.
HPD spokeswoman Michelle Yu said the department is looking into Fonoimoana’s allegations.