This morning the Maui Police Department arrested Thomas Russo, MauiTime’s publisher and owner, after Russo began filming MPD officers on Haleakala Highway during a massive series of traffic stops involving five or six police cars. Maui PD charged Russo with interfering with a government operation, harassment and resisting arrest.
“I stopped to find out why it was so important to back up traffic for miles,” Russo said after being released. “Social media was blowing up my phone, asking what was going on there. I wanted a report from the scene. I was arrested for filming and all other charges from the MPD are ridiculous. The police chose to arrest me in a direct attempt to stop the documenting of their activities.”
Russo said he walked up to an officer on the side of Haleakala Highway and asked him what was going on. The officer told Russo that they were looking for “traffic violations.” Russo then repeatedly asked the officer what gave them the right to back up traffic on a busy morning clear to Hali’imaile.
Russo said a second officer then told him that he was “obstructing” a traffic stop, in contradiction to the first officer who merely told him to “stay on the side.” Russo says he repeatedly asked the officers why they’re conducting all these traffic stops on such a busy morning.
While swiftly walking backwards but still filming the officers, he said both officers began following him and continuously telling him to “stand back.” Still walking back away from the officers, Russo said he identified himself by name and told the officer that he was a member of the media and runs MauiTime. At that point, Russo said Officer Rusty Lawson then told him that he was under arrest. Still walking backwards, away from the officers, Russo said Lawson then arrested him.
Lt. Wayne Ibarra, the Maui Police spokesman, did not provide a statement from the department on the arrest by press time.
10 Comments
November 20, 2012
As a former police officer, I can’t understand what law is being used to arrest someone filming in a public place? They don’t have to answer any questions and can ignore reporters. As long as the reporters are not actually walking into the traffic, disturbing victims or witnesses, making it difficult for the officers to continue doing their jobs, there seems to be no reason and no probably cause to arrest. Because this has happened before on Maui, I wonder what will ever be done to bring back the public trust.
November 20, 2012
it really bothers me that in the name of muck-raking exposure of corruption conspiracy, you guys interfere with active police investigations. did you really think Police wanted to make sure everybody had their paperwork and was properly signaling lane changes? or perhaps was marijuana induced paranoia creating unbridled anxiety among the MauiTime readership waiting in traffic? learn to report the news NOT be the news.!!!
November 20, 2012
Funny, Maui News is reporting your boss was arrested cause the occupants of the stopped vehicle were offended at Russo filming them. For a paper that prides itself on transparency, that little fact omission is troubling.
November 21, 2012
BOGUS! Stay on that fascist action~
November 21, 2012
The sooner the monopoly police are abolished, the better for everyone.
November 21, 2012
Who watches the watchmen? Maui network of active resistors growing on facebook: search and join ‘post popo checkpoints’
November 21, 2012
I’m unaware of any law which allows police to arrest someone for “offending the occupants of a vehicle”
November 24, 2012
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Yeah, that’s called resisting arrest. This article sounds more like high-school newsletter journalism than actual “fact reporting”.
Hey, you’re asking what’s the point of making traffic stops on a busy morning? Okay….what’s the point of FILMING a traffic stop if you’re solely looking to ask questions about the traffic stop?
You’re obstructing a traffic stop…don’t you get that? If you have a problem with “Operation Recon”, why not doing actual reporting and INTERVIEW Ibarra or Yabuta? If you’re going to come off as a legitimate news alternative to Maui News, how about acting like it?
November 27, 2012
You should hang out on Alamaha street after work sometime…. They hide behind trees… Its an oxymoron. pass out tickets for no seatbelts but hey that truck that just went by with a bunch of kids in the bed. Its like hmmmm that dont look safe but as long as the guy driving has a seatbelt on. I wonder when they gonna equip motorcycles with seatbelts? Sire pull er over, err i mean bend over and spread em, oops did I say that? Oh btw news is news. I mean really it is news when traffic is backed up. Dont we want to know what is backing up traffic? I think that anyone with an IQ over the speed limit wants to know what is going on that is going to make him or her late for work, that is NEWS. Hey did you hear the news? Arresting someone for exercising his or her constitutional rights (freedom of speech) or (Free Press) is in itself a violation of a persons civil or constitutional rights or freedoms. Well in America it is. Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
Aloha
November 28, 2012
Unfortunately, the cat is out of the bag. The social networks will continue to drive the new media phenom. The police department needs to
be more vigilant about how they do their duty. Right or wrong, MPD your
commission is becoming useless if they don’t do a better job of listening to the public and doing their duty.