COURTESY MAUI POLICE DEPARTMENT
A screen capture from a Maui police officer’s body camera showed a moment during the Aug. 8 wildfire in Lahaina.
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I couldn’t help but think the Maui Police Department was blowing a little smoke when it released its carefully edited body cam video of the heroic actions of their officers the day of the Lahaina fires (“Maui police release Lahaina body camera footage,” Star- Advertiser, Oct. 31).
No doubt the Maui officers did the best they could in enormously difficult circumstances, but there still remain many unanswered questions regarding the handling of traffic trying to leave Lahaina.
Maui Police Chief John Pelletier has consistently maintained MPD officers only directed people away from danger. No one believes that and there are dozens of YouTube videos and eyewitness accounts to the contrary.
Since the beginning of this tragedy, Maui County leadership has failed to give people the real story of what happened. Requests from media outlets have been routinely ignored and the mayor has been less than forthcoming, to say the least. Questions are sidestepped with excuses about pending litigation or waiting for the results of investigations.
This will not go away. The citizens of Maui and the state deserve better.
Steve Alumbaugh
Wailuku
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