Question: What is the jurisdiction of the harbor police? While driving on Nimitz Highway about 11:15 one night, I was told by a harbor police officer that he was going to ticket me for driving with my high beams on. He did not ticket me, but lectured me about the traffic code and said if I didn’t believe him, he would have the Honolulu Police Department give me a ticket. I did not argue with him, but I did not appreciate his threatening attitude. Was he within his jurisdiction?
Answer: Yes, harbor police officers, who are under the state Department of Transportation, can issue traffic citations along Nimitz Highway.
Harbor police have law enforcement authority in any commercial harbor and in any area over which the DOT has jurisdiction, a spokesman said. This includes all state roads, such as Nimitz Highway.
Under Section 266-24 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, harbor officers are authorized to serve and execute warrants, arrest offenders, serve notices and orders, and issue citations, including for traffic violations.
Their primary duty is to provide law enforcement at commercial harbors.
But their duty also encompasses the perimeter patrol of areas bordering harbor facilities for suspicious and criminal activity, the spokesman said. Bordering Honolulu Harbor’s Piers 1 through 53, these areas include such state roads as Ala Moana Boulevard, Nimitz Highway, Sand Island Access Road and Sand Island Parkway.
Regarding the officer saying he would contact HPD, the spokesman said there may have been some miscommunication because harbor police do have the authority to issue their own traffic citations at harbors and other areas under the DOT’s jurisdiction.
Question: On a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, a flight attendant told me I could not use my personal air purifier, which was hanging around my neck. She said the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) says I can wear it but can’t turn it on. This makes no sense. All it does is blow air into my face, makes no noise and doesn’t bother my seatmates. I’ve worn it all over the world for years, and this is the first time I’ve heard about this FAA ruling. Is this correct — it can be worn but not turned on? If so, why?
Answer: There is no FAA regulation prohibiting you from turning on the personal air purifier.
Instead, the FAA says this is something that is left up to each airline to decide.
In this case, personal air purifiers are among those electronic devices not permitted for use on its aircraft, a Delta spokeswoman told Kokua Line.
Portable electronic devices, such as a personal air purifier, can be used if the air carrier determines they will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which the device would be used, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the FAA’s Pacific Division.
"The pilot-in-command has final authority on electronic devices operated onboard any aircraft at any time," he said. "Delta might have a safety policy that states that portable oxygen purifiers cannot be used on their flights. Such a policy would not violate any FAA regulations."
Gregor pointed to the FAA’s regulations on "portable electronic devices" — 1.usa.gov/1u2zeqi — which says no person may operate any portable electronic device on any U.S.-registered civil aircraft with these exceptions: portable voice recorders, hearing aids, heart pacemakers, electric shavers or any other device the airline "has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft."
Mahalo
To the good and caring people who helped after I fell near the crosswalk heading toward the Ala Moana Building last month, especially the young couple who stayed with me to make certain I was all right. A warm aloha to Dr. Catalan and her staff, especially Mercy, who efficiently doctored my bleeding elbow. — Grateful Senior Citizen
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
