Maui Police Department officer Brandon Saffeels is under investigation following a Hawaii News Now report that the cop abused his power. Texts and phone calls uncovered by reporter Lynn Kawano show that Saffeels contacted a woman just hours after arresting her for drunk driving. The communications, in which the officer offers to throw his testimony […]
Maui Chief of Police Receives Patriot Award
Maui Chief of Police Tivoli Faaumu was presented with the Patriot Award on March 18 by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve members Lloyd Sodetani and Darren Kasai. The Patriot Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen service members through a wide-range of measures at work. The award is given to an individual […]
Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu Doesn’t Want You to Get High
“Marijuana is already regulated in Hawaii. Why decriminalize it so those people who have no medical condition are allowed to get ‘high?’” –Maui Police Department Chief Tivoli Faaumu, in testimony dated Feb. 4, 2019 “Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” –H.L. Mencken Last week, the Hawai‘i State House Committee on the […]
The Maui Police Dept. bought crime-fighting ice machines with asset forfeiture funds
Normally, hearing that the Maui Police Department recently purchased ice machines for its stations in Hana and Lanai wouldn’t inspire me to write a story. But when I heard that the department used asset forfeiture funds to buy the machines, I got to work. Civil asset forfeiture is one of those grotesque things governments do […]
Maui County Liquor Commission to hold special meeting on petition to repeal new 24-hour liquor sale rule
The Maui County Liquor Commission‘s decision back in March to legalize liquor sales at retail stores and hotels 24 hours a day is one of those bizarre actions that seems to characterize the LC. Were grocery stores really clamoring to sell beer at 4am? Was the LC give enough notice to the public ahead of time about their […]
ACLU Hawaii asks County of Maui to resist Trump’s deportation efforts
President Donald Trump’s continued assault on immigration has led to the implementation of ‘deportation forces’ across the country. These units have attempted to draft local law enforcement officials from every state, including Hawaii. To combat this, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii (ACLU) has sent letters to officials in every Hawaii county, warning of […]
Hawaii News Now reports FBI investigating Maui Police theft/bribery case
Back in October, when stories of Maui Police officers getting arrested for all manner of alleged crimes seemed to pop up in the news on a nearly weekly basis, we called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to just take a can-opener to the department. “If there was ever a time for the Federal […]
UPDATED–Maui Confidential: Yet another Maui cop arrested for allegedly bribing a witness
[This story has been updated to include Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu’s Oct. 22 video message to the public.] It’s another week, and that means another Maui Police Officer has been busted for some form of criminal behavior. If there was ever a time for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to start looking into the […]
The Maui Police body camera study is over. Or is it?
I love it when a news story explaining a meaningless press release that hasn’t even been sent out yet. On June 20, The Maui News reported that Maui Police officials said during the June 17 Police Commission meeting that the department’s body camera study–in which 10 volunteer officers wore cameras donated by Taser–is effectively over. […]
Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber hosts Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu this Tuesday
The Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce hosts Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu this Tuesday at the Maui Tropical Plantation. The public is invited to hear Faaumu’s vision for the Maui Police Department. RSVP by Sunday, April 12 to the number or website below. A no host bar and buffet dinner included in fee. $25 members. […]
As cannabis co-op owner Brian Murphy languishes in prison, the Hawaii Legislature may finally legalize medical marijuana dispensaries
The modern American drug war is now deep into its 43rd year. Every year, the federal government spends between $20 billion and $25 billion on measures designed to combat the sale of illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin and marijuana. The results of these expenditures are a monument to failure: despite the fact that one in […]
2014 Maui Year In Review
This was a year of great storms, both political and climatic. It’s the year we got the new governor that apparently everyone wanted, and the year some of Maui’s most powerful and infamous police officers decided to hang up their badges (some more willing than others). This was the year Kimo Apana attempted to make […]
TONIGHT: New Maui PD Chief Tivoli Faaumu Appearing Live On Akaku
If you’re curious about what newly minted Maui PD Chief Tivoli Faaumu thinks about law enforcement, then you might want to tune into Akaku Channel 55 tonight at 5pm (you can also see it on Akaku.org and hear it on K-AKU 88.5 on your FM dial). Shaggy Jenkins will interview Faaumu live. Worried that Faaumu won’t talk about […]
Maui County Police Commission Chooses Capt. Tivoli Faaumu To Be New MPD Chief
There’s no white smoke pouring out of the Maui Police Department’s Wailuku headquarters, but the Maui Police Commission has nonetheless just elected a new pope–er, police chief–and his name is Tivoli Faaumu. That’s right, kids: the commission opted to go ABC–”anyone but Clayton–and opted to ignore Deputy Chief Clayton Tom (retired Chief Gary Yabuta’s preferred […]