We may never find out what those three were really doing when they said they were in cop class, but it is a sign of the times that we can at least think of numerous possibilities.

Two Kaua'i Police Department sergeants and one officer entered no contest pleas last week to charges stemming from an incident in September 2005 when they said they were attending a seminar on Maui but never went to class. They got on the plane, rented cars, checked into hotel rooms, got per diem checks and even filled out "what I learned in class" surveys but didn't go to class.

Or if they did, they're just not fighting the allegations that they cut class. Maybe they were sitting in the back, mumbled "here!" too softly when the teacher took attendance and didn't participate in group discussion. "No contest" is different from admitting guilt, though it is also different from proclaiming innocence.

The three-day training session that they're not contesting they didn't attend was about marijuana eradication. That begs for a punch line, doesn't it?

So instead of learning about eradicating marijuana, what were they doing? Biking down Haleakala? Cooking with Cutty? Gathering rocks in anticipation of the Superferry?

It wasn't too long ago that the idea of getting into trouble on a Neighbor Island would be met with disbelief. Trouble? What could they possibly do? Hoist a few bottles at a beach park parking lot? Shoot fence posts with their service revolver? Tip a cow? Seriously, there just wasn't much. Pakalolo class would be the most interesting thing going on.

Even visiting high school teams found it hard to raise any heck at the Maui Palms hotel. Whoo-hoo! We bad! Let's go raid the ice machine in the lobby!

But Maui has the lure of the big city now, especially if you're from Kaua'i. There are bar fights upcountry, bar fights in Kihei, costumed bar fights in Lahaina. There's nightlife beyond 10 p.m. and daylife even more exotic than the swap meet at the old fair grounds.

Maybe it wasn't anything like that. Maybe it was long naps, walks on the beach at sunset, a trip to the hotel spa.

The three Kaua'i police officers have been on paid leave since August 2006, though dismissal proceedings have begun. They also face the possibility of jail time and fines.

They face the ridicule of every person who has ever cut out of a boring meeting, a tedious class, an odious work assignment and did it with some ingenuity and cunning.

They also face the ire of those who went to class because that's what they were supposed to do, fun or not.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.