HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Wailuku man, 48, was jail fatality
Advertiser Staff
WAILUKU — Maui police have identified a man who died after being arrested on Christmas Day as Willard Fleming, 48, of Wailuku.
Police were called to Fleming's home on Holowai Place at the Kahekili Terrace housing complex after a 6:55 p.m. report of a domestic disturbance, according to Lt. Glenn Cuomo. Fleming apparently had been arguing with his girlfriend. When police issued a citation for him to leave the area for a 24-hour "cooling off" period, he refused and was arrested without a struggle, Cuomo said.
While confined in a cell at the Wailuku police headquarters, Fleming experienced difficulty breathing and an ambulance was summoned at 8:20 p.m., Cuomo said. He was pronounced dead a short while later at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
An autopsy yesterday did not reveal a conclusive cause of death, although Cuomo said Fleming did not show any signs of injury. Additional tests are being done to determine how the man died.
WAIKIKI
THREE ARRESTED AFTER OFFICER WAS HIT
Three men were arrested in Waikiki Monday night after one of them allegedly punched a Honolulu police officer in the face while the other two tried to help the assailant get away.
At 7:57 p.m., a 30-year-old Waikiki patrol officer approached a man who appeared to be staggering in the middle of Ala Wai Boulevard. As the officer walked up to the man, two other men walked in between them and started talking to the officer, police said.
Meanwhile, the staggering man allegedly ran up to the officer and punched him in the face, police said. The officer suffered a contusion, was treated at an area hospital and released.
When the officer tried to run after the man who hit him, the two other men held him back. Responding officers arrested the man who allegedly punched the officer and the two men who allegedly restrained him.
WAI'ALAE NUI
TREE ROOT CAUSES SEWAGE SPILL
An estimated 1,900 gallons of sewage is believed to have spilled from a manhole in lower Wai'alae Nui yesterday.
Raw sewage was reported coming out of a manhole in an easement behind a Hoakoa Place home at about 8:15 a.m. A city crew responded and found that a tree root had blocked an 8-inch sewer main, causing wastewater to back up. The pipe was cleared and the area was disinfected by 11:30 a.m.
The Department of Health was notified and warning signs were posted. The public is advised to avoid the affected areas.
STATEWIDE
PARKS TO CLOSE ON NEW YEAR'S EVE
The state will close Pu'u 'Ualaka'a (Round Top) state park on O'ahu and the Old Kona Airport, Kekaha Kai and Hapuna Beach state parks on the Big Island early on New Year's Eve.
"We are closing the parks early to discourage use of fireworks, which is prohibited in state parks, and to protect the public and natural resources of the area," said state Department of Land and Natural Resources deputy director Robert Masuda.
The entrance gate to Pu'u 'Ualaka'a will close at 4 p.m. Saturday, and the Big Island parks will close at 6 p.m.
Normal park hours will resume the next day.
O'AHU
$172,500 TO HELP WAIALUA LIBRARY
The state has released $172,500 in construction money to make improvements at Waialua Public Library.
The project includes new flooring, shelving, workstations, counter tops and lockers; replacing missing roof shingles; and repairing metal gutters and circulation desk counters.
The total project cost is $235,500 and is expected to be completed in May.
