LIHUE — Two young adult males were arrested on charges of harassment at Hanalei Pier Tuesday. Police Chief Darryl Perry said the men, both in their 20s, posted bail. Perry did not respond to questions about the nature of the
LIHUE — Two young adult males were arrested on charges of harassment at Hanalei Pier Tuesday.
Police Chief Darryl Perry said the men, both in their 20s, posted bail.
Perry did not respond to questions about the nature of the incident that led up to the arrest, nor did he divulge details about the suspects.
But a Hanalei business owner told The Garden Island that the altercation at the pier involved a group of local residents who were speaking derogatorily to a group of tourists.
The business owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he did not witness the incident, but was told about it from people who did witness it.
Attempts to reach witnesses before press time Thursday were unsuccessful.
The arrests come less than three weeks after a group of eighth-grade students and teacher chaperons visiting from California were attacked by a large group of suspects near the pier on May 30.
Several of the victims reported being threatened, spit on and punched in the head and chest.
The suspects fled before police arrived on the scene, and so far no arrests have been made.
The incident is being investigated as an assault case, with possible charges of criminal harassment and property damage for those who were involved, county spokeswoman Sarah Blane has said.
The businessman said he is concerned that not enough is being done to prevent such incidents at the pier, a popular place for sunset viewing and evening gatherings.
“We all know there’s this unrest between the local people and tourists, and everyone kind of brushes it under the rug and says, ‘Oh, we’re not going to talk about it,’” the businessman said. “But now we have two incidents like this in a month and we need to talk about it.”
“You have a lot of local people living in Hanalei who feel like they’re being pushed out by the rich people moving in and it brings up this anti-haole attitude,” he added.
The businessman said he is so unsettled by these two incidents that he plans to reach out to other Hanalei business owners to help him fund a private security guard to monitor nighttime activity at the pier.
