The Maui News

WAILUKU — Police issued 12 citations for fireworks violations, the majority for setting off illegal aerial fireworks, during Fourth of July enforcement, police said.

Wailuku patrol officers, along with community policing officers and Crime Reduction Unit officers, issued the criminal citations after responding to complaints about fireworks violations and observing people setting off the fireworks, said Assistant Chief John Jakubczak.

He said officers worked the special assignments “to flood, especially the central area, with a response team to these complaints.”

Officers also documented 19 other fireworks cases where citations weren’t issued.

“It was very successful,” Jakubczak said at a Maui Police Commission meeting Wednesday at the Wailuku Police Station. “It sends a message to the community that we are serious about fireworks violations.”

Responding to a question by Commissioner Lawrence Feinberg about the source of the illegal fireworks, Jakubczak said police have talked with the Coast Guard and other state agencies, which have jurisdiction over state harbors, about illegal fireworks arriving by barge.

“We’re still working with them,” he said. “We’re still having dialogue.”

Jakubczak said police plan more fireworks enforcement efforts to address community concerns.

“They potentially can cause fires, as we have had recently with it being so dry,” he said.