ATVs make beach patrol easier for police

By LILA FUJIMOTO Staff Writer
KIHEI — Using all-terrain vehicles to go where police cars can’t, Kihei patrol officers are sweeping through beaches from Maalaea to Makena to check for illegal activity.

On Thursday, a day after warning the owners of about 20 dogs running loose on South Maui beaches, officers gave out six citations for leash-law violations. Nine cars were ticketed for illegal parking, many near beach access roads in Wailea and Makena.

The special operation, which has been carried out during the school spring break, is the latest by Kihei officers using ATVs. Most officers in the sprawling district have been trained to operate the vehicles, which have been used by police in Kihei for about two years.

“ATVs allow officers to reach areas that normal police vehicles are unable to access,” said Capt. Jeffrey Tanoue, commander of the Kihei Patrol District. “Although we are limited in resources, we have increased ATV patrols and will continue efforts to monitor and enforce criminal activities at beaches and parks in the South Maui areas.”

For the past two weeks, as crowds have packed beaches and filled South Maui hotel rooms, the officers have increased ATV patrols on both weekdays and weekends.

“It’s another tool that the department has to fight crime,” said officer Gregg Karonis.

Wearing a safety helmet and police uniform, he joined visitor-oriented policing officer Alan Brown and Sgt. Champ Wright in the enforcement effort Thursday. “You can see the problems that happen on the beach,” Wright said.

Police officers have helped enforce the law banning alcohol at the state park at Makena and have made arrests for underage drinking and drug use on beaches and in parks during ATV patrols, at times managing to surprise offenders despite the roar of the rugged vehicles.

“As big as they are, you can sneak up on people,” Wright said. “It’s amazing.”

The attention to leash-law violations followed an attack on a 7-year-old boy who was bitten by a dog at Baby Beach in Paia on March 3.

During patrols Wednesday, officers spotted more than 20 dogs running loose on the beach and stopped to warn owners about the leash law.

“A lot of them claimed they didn’t know,” Brown said. “They thought it was all right to let the dog off the leash.”

On Thursday, citations were issued to those who still had dogs off leashes. The citations carry fines starting at $50 for a first offense and increasing up to $500.

At Makena, the officers joined a state Department of Land and Natural Resources officer who was also using an ATV to patrol the state park.

“Because we have been out there since last week, people are getting akamai to our presence,” Wright said Thursday. “It gives us access to beachfront areas, places not readily available to other patrol officers. We can get down onto the beach and have a presence. People seem to like it.”

Some beachgoers have asked officers on ATVs to pose for photographs. At times, residents have chased down officers to report illegal activity.

Police say the patrols can deter criminal activity, with Brown citing one instance where a teenager was overheard saying he would be leery about smoking marijuana in a Kihei park because of the ATV patrols.

“It makes some of them think twice,” Brown said.

A couple of months ago, Brown used an ATV to transport an injured man from Keawakapu Beach to a beach access where medics could tend to his dislocated shoulder. That saved firefighters and other emergency workers from having to carry the man from the beach.

In December, Brown and other police officers on ATVs joined firefighters and Hawaii National Guard members who went door to door in some Upcountry locations to check on residents after a major storm. The ATVs allowed the emergency workers to reach homes, including some on Polipoli Road, which was impassible because of flooding and erosion in some places.

Police also have ATVs in Lahaina and Hana and on Lanai.

In one case in Kihei last year, a shoplifter was apprehended by an officer on an ATV, Brown said. After leaving the Foodland store in Kihei Town Center, the shoplifter ran to some nearby stores before ending up on the baseball field at Kalama Park. There, the ATV officer pulled up alongside him. The shoplifter gave up.

“He realized he wasn’t going to be able to outrun the ATV,” Brown said.

• Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.