Thursday, July 14, 2011

Musings: Stinking Badges

Walking with the dogs after a rain so big it muffled the clank, whine and grind of the garbage truck, skirting a just-made stream racing down the road toward the real stream, looking up to see steel gray over Waialeale, white tendrils atop Makaleha, the sky a mosaic of blue, charcoal, pink and ivory, and in the west, pearlescent clouds edged with rainbows.

The long-running — as in all the way back to the Superferry protests of Aug. 26, 2007 — case of Dayne Gonsalves, Alii Nui of the Kingdom of Atooi, edged forward in a similarly dramatic way yesterday when Judge Kathleen Watanabe directed Kauai police to return Dayne’s badge.

Corrected The badge, which bears his family’s coat of arms and reads “Hawaii Federal Marshall – Kingdom of Atooi,” wasn't used that night at the harbor when Dayne and Robert Pa allegedly tried to prevent the vessel from unloading. But it reportedly was displayed, to the great annoyance of Assistant Chief Roy Asher, when they were arrested on Oct. 23, 2007 for obstructing, trespassing and obstructing government operations, resulting in an additional charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer. A second impersonation charge was added when the cops arrested Dayne on an outstanding warrant in a heavy-handed, SWAT-style manner on April 30, 2008, and found the badge in a pouch in his truck. He never flashed it, but made a reference to the cops having to answer to the Kingdom if they took him in, which they didn’t like.

Deputy prosecutor Melinda Mendes didn’t like Watanabe’s order to return the badge, either. In fact, she reacted so strongly that Watanabe had to issue a reminder about the rules of the court: she is the judge and Mendes is the attorney. It seems Mendes couldn’t figure out how she could prosecute Dayne for impersonation without the badge, which she claims is being held as “evidence.”

His trial — estimated to perhaps cost as much as $100,000 and last two weeks, with the prosecution calling some 25 officers — is set for Aug. 29.

But Watanabe had determined, after reviewing a motion filed by Dan Hempey, Dayne’s court-appointed attorney, that the police and prosecutors essentially were acting illegally by withholding his badge.

The motion came before the court after Dayne agreed to a plea bargain in which he would pay a $250 fine for obstructing, with the other charges dropped. But then the prosecutor added a condition that Dayne also had to surrender his badge. Hempey responded that such a condition was not only a deal-killer, but a violation of Dayne’s human rights under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Obama signed in December 2010.

In his motion to strike the condition from the plea agreement, Hempey argued:

Various articles to this U.N. declaration to which the United State’s is now a signatory and party are directly relevant to whether defendant and the other citizens of Atooi have the right to their nation, the right to identification cards, and the right to form their own legal and political institutions including but not limited to a group of federal marshals who use badges for their internal government purposes.

Defendant contends that this United Nations declaration clearly obliges the United States and its political subdivisions to recognize, at a minimum: 1) Defendant’s right to a position in government in his Atooi nation; 2) Defendant’s right to possess an identification card identifying hi as a citizen of his Atooi nation; and 3) Defendant’s right to possess a badge, identifying him as a Federal Marshall in the Kingdom of Atooi.

Defendant contends that the Kauai Office of the Prosecuting Attorney violates his human rights by demanding, as a condition of a plea bargain in a criminal case involving misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors, that he surrender any of his human rights to self-determination as an indigenous person of these islands – including his right to be identified within his Kingdom by his title and badge.

Defendant was not pretending to be a State of Hawaii law enforcement officer; rather he is a law enforcement officer in the Kingdom of Attooi, as he is legally entitled to be.


It’s still unclear whether the cops are actually going to return Dayne’s badge. The judge ordered Hempey to prepare an order to that effect, but Mendes was saying the prosecutor’s office might appeal the ruling, which would be an unusual step before the trial, and further delay that proceeding. It was also unclear whether the prosecutor’s office would agree to the plea bargain if it didn’t include the condition that he surrender the badge.

Mendes told the court she wasn’t in a position to make such decisions. However, Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who is running for re-election, is. The question now is whether she will push on with this case, potentially alienating the Native Hawaiian vote and Watanabe, who has been pushing both sides to spare the court the time and expense of a lengthy trial.

Another question is whether KPD, or more specifically, Roy Asher, can put aside its pride and let this four-year-old matter be resolved.

Or as one court observer noted: what, really, is the big deal about returning a badge that the cops don’t even recognize?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lot of lawyers getting paid with our money to waste a lot of time. Really, a 100k trial over a case with a $200 fine?
What is wrong with these people?

Anonymous said...

Its all about their ego...that's what's wrong with these people (cops, prosecutors, persecutors) at the expense of the tax payers...US

Waste of time. Waste of money.
They get paid
They "No kea"


Dr Shibai

Anonymous said...

It's called job security!

The more people they can envelope into the bogged out court system, the more they can quote a monumental case load. That way they can justify overtime and other expenses.

My son got into a bad run with the law and has been going to court religously. The cops still come to the house with a bench warrant. When he says he made all his court dates, they call it in to verify. The court says there are no warrants. What a useless system.
Overpaid Inefficiency!~!

Yet they have no oversight and records for cops. An article on Civil Beat covers this,

http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2011/07/14/12065-few-cities-track-police-crimes-honolulu-included/

Yes, government is to big and uncontrolled and pretty much useless. It needs reform. However soverienty thugs are just as troublesome.

Anonymous said...

"soverienty thugs"

I like that.

Well the Gov fixed it all by signing that bill putting this issue in its proper place.

ps - I have an old "Junior G-Man" badge I'll sell the thugs...

Anonymous said...

Too bad got people like Dayne pushing the sovereignty. Heʻs not qualified for any of it. He is incapable of speaking for himself and alsways relies on someone else to tell him what his rights are or what the law is.
Sure many donʻt know the law but if he is claiming to be a leader he has to at least be able to say something, anything.
But it appears he and his wife just wants to wear crowns and get a bunch of money from somewhere. Mayb, if they feel like it, they give something to their ʻsubjectsʻ.

But actually, this is exactly the kind of individual the CIA likes to prop up because they are so dum.

Stupid badge is right. Sure it may be a symbol of some higher authority but who or what recognition did he get to be vested with that authority?

Man that is one expensive trial. Wasted on a useless cause...not sovereignty but the guy pretending to be what he is.

Anonymous said...

Right message - wrong messenger here.
Does sound like a huge waste. A kid can buy a fake badge at WalMart. Its a big who cares and prosecutor should not be getting all dug in on this.

Anonymous said...

Dayne has wasted taxpayer money and your time in covering this stupid story.

Give him back his toy bagde and toy gun and let him sing, sign, and/or play victim. Whichever is most appropriate for the crowd.

Anonymous said...

That name, it sounds like sneeze. Their defense should be, "who's naive enough to take us seriously?"

Anonymous said...

Another one wants something------------for nothing.

Heʻs a bane to the real sovereignty efforts. Makes the intelligent sovereigns out there look like theyʻre all like him. He needs attention and thatʻs his purpose and free money.

Just like those idiots that stormed the Palace. What a disgrace to the real sovereigns tirelessly trying to achieve their goals through laws and intelligence.

If Dayne were any kind of a man heʻd step back and offer behind the scenes support and humble himself.

He doesnʻt even have the brains to know when to be embarrassed.
I donʻt like talking like this but Dayne obviously does not care about anyone but himself.

Anonymous said...

The Badge was previously utilized to illegally tax unsuspecting tourist, shut down a Fedaral Contsruction site, because those workers believed it to be authentic. There are in excess of 25 more of those Badges being held by Dayne Gonsalves's followers. The Badge was conficated as Dayne attempted to utilize it as a tool for immunity to Hawaii State Laws as the Police Officers arrested him on the strength of a Court issued arrest warrant. The arrest was indeed as a result of Dayne's actions at the Superferry protest. The Badge was never displayed at the protect has Joan indicates. Yes it is sad that so much effort, time and resources are being exspended. However can you imagine the 25 other Badges that could potentially victimize the elderly, the nieve, unsuspecting or you. I'm glad KPD is nipping this at the bud.

Anonymous said...

From next Friday's Police Commission agenda:

Presentation from Reinstated Hawaiian Government providing overview of their government’s purpose and goals as a sovereign entity.

Anonymous said...

"Yes, I am King of the Reinstated Hawaiian Government....you want fries with that?"

Joan Conrow said...

The Reinstated Hawaiian Government doesn't have a king. It has an elected prime minister, Henry Noa.

Anonymous said...

"Yah, I'm the Prime Minister of Hawaii...welcome to Wal-Mart."

Anonymous said...

Reinstated by whom? Not the Guv.

Doesn't count then, does it?

Play nice, now, as the "adopted children" of the Interior Dept.

And be thankful for that.

Anonymous said...

For your information, the ʻGuvʻ does not have the authority to reinstate a nation.

Anonymous said...

Which nation got reinstated? The Kingdom of Atooi or the other one? I got stoned and I missed it.

Anonymous said...

"Play nice, now, as the "adopted children" of the Interior Dept. And be thankful for that."

Maybe just meant to provoke someone, but I do hope you realize that essentially, what you are saying is "who cares about the legality of the overthrow, your 'lucky' the US left the Hawaiians a crumb." So, you are condoning the first illegal overthrow of a nation by the US. You also were probably all outraged when Iraq did it to Kuwait. Anyway, hard to believe that there are still USA cheerleaders who think nothing that country can do is wrong, and well Jesus favors the US and thats just how it is.

Maybe you think its just cute to be contrarian. But in reality, your just a thug, without any compassion - and sure seems like riddled in racism too. But in your book white americans apparently get a free pass on theft, and the victims are to consider themselves lucky that more wasn't taken.

Anonymous said...

Kauai's government replicates a third world really messed up plantation style mentality. Why is that? Unko, anty and da hole famly werks ova dea but no mo qualficasians.