Lack of seat belt stalls
accused auto thief
A police officer assigned to the "Click-It-Or-Ticket" program caught an auto-theft suspect on Wednesday, police said.
The officer noticed a motorist was not wearing a seat belt and flagged him down in Halawa, police said. When the officer asked the man, 34, for documentation for the car the, the driver could not comply, police said.
The officer checked and learned the car had been reported stolen the previous day. The man, who has no local address, was arrested for auto theft. The "Click-It-Or-Ticket" program is designed to ticket motorists who are not using seat belts or child restraint seats. Under Hawaii law all front seat occupants and back seat occupants under 18 must wear a seat belt. Children under 4 must be in a child restraint seat. The program is running in all four counties through June 6.