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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Thursday, February 10, 2005

BUREAUCRACY BUSTER

Blue lights not a pass to run red

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. What's the official Honolulu police policy on officers using their blue lights to get through bad traffic? I saw an officer turn on his lights and make a U-turn without turning on his siren and then head off on his merry way. It sure looked like he was just impatient with the heavy traffic. Can he do that just because he's an officer?

A. Acting Capt. Frank Fujii, HPD public information officer, said the official policy is that police lights and sirens are only to be used for emergency situations where someone's life may be in danger.

Fujii said emergency vehicles are governed by state law, city ordinance and internal procedures. He said police generally are required to use both the blue light and the siren for an emergency.

Fujii, who has been with the department since 1975, said there are times when police officers must make judgment calls on the road. For example, he said, on a call to respond to a robbery in progress in which the robber has a gun, the officer might reason that "if I'm near, I'm not going to turn my siren on. I need to weigh the safety of the people I could help."

Fujii said people should feel free to call in a question to him at 529-3550 about what they have observed, getting the time, date, location, license plate and a description of the car. "It's all about public trust," he said.

Q. Is it against the law for a group of people to park their vans on the side of the road and sell vegetables and obstruct traffic on Waipahu Street, near Kahuanui Street? This happens many days from around 3 to 6 p.m. Several times, I almost hit people in this area. Is this legal?

A. Honolulu Police Lt. Keith Lima, of the Pearl City substation, said there have been complaints from this area in the past, and that police have chased away the vendors.

Police had been citing a city ordinance that allows such vehicles to be parked in one area for only 15 minutes at a time, Lima said. When complaints came in, police would require the vendors to move 300 feet away and then tell them they couldn't return for three hours.

However, after you complained, Lima asked city traffic division specialists to do more research. And now police are clearing the area by referring to a state law that "prohibits vending from highways where it creates a hazardous condition or a public nuisance."

Lima said the complaints come in for that area a few times a year. "The problem exists because the people who are trying to cross the street are not cautious," he said.

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