Posted on: Saturday, May 28, 2005

Officers ticket mayor's wife

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

A speeding ticket for Honolulu's first lady, Gail Mukaihata Hannemann, prompted a call from Mayor Mufi Hannemann to the city's top law enforcement official, but both the police chief and the mayor said no special treatment was asked for or given.

Mayor Hannemann was a passenger in the vehicle when it was stopped Wednesday night near Ala Moana Center.

The mayor said he had eaten dinner at Ala Moana and they were headed home after 10 p.m. when police pulled the car over and cited his wife for going 38 mph in a 25-mph zone on Pi'ikoi Street.

Honolulu Police Chief Boisse Correa confirmed that Gail Hannemann received a citation — although he declined to provide the time, speed and other details.

Correa said Mayor Hannemann called him after the traffic stop and asked some "procedural questions" about the citation but did not ask for any favors.

"The mayor did call me," Correa said. "He informed me that he was a passenger in the car with his wife and that two officers gave her a citation."

Hannemann said he felt comfortable making the call because he routinely calls various city officials when he wants more information. "I asked for no special favors," he said.

In the end, Correa was satisfied that everything was done properly. "Nobody did anything inappropriate; nobody did anything unlawful," he said.

Correa said "the command handled the citation as they would any other citation." The chief acknowledged one key difference with the high-profile case. "They wrote a report to document the event because it involved the mayor," he said.

The chief said the two officers who issued the citation were in the area working as a team monitoring for traffic and drunken-driving offenses.

Correa said he did not feel intimidated by the call. "He doesn't hire me nor can he fire me. I'm a nonpolitical person," he said. The Honolulu Police Commission hires the chief.

And Correa said Hannemann was right to call. "As the mayor, he can call me anytime he wants cause he's the head of the city," he said. "He needs to let me know if he gets involved with my officers."

Hannemann said the matter is resolved. "She already paid the ticket," he said.