Officials look into alleged assault at Maui airport
WAILUKU » State transportation officials are conducting an internal review of an alleged altercation between a Pacific Wings employee and a Wackenhut Security guard at Kahului Airport.
Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said the guard has been taken off the job and could face disciplinary action. Ishikawa said officials also were looking at whether the Pacific Wings employee was interfering with security guard duties.
Ishikawa said the alleged altercation occurred after a Wackenhut guard issued a citation Sunday morning to a truck parked near Gate 7 at the commuter terminal.
"Basic security procedures is you're not supposed to have unattended vehicles near the airport," Ishikawa said. "Security's job is to keep the vehicles moving."
Wackenhut Security guard Eric Brown, 49, has been charged with a misdemeanor, second-degree terroristic threatening. He posted $200 bail.
Police Lt. Jon Morioka said officers were called to Kahului Airport at about 11:13 a.m. Sunday after a Pacific Wings employee reported he was verbally threatened by Brown.
Pacific Wings President Greg Kahlstorf said his operations manager, Gabriel Kimbrell, was dropping off upholstery that was to be flown to Honolulu, when he was blocked on both sides by Wackenhut Security vehicles and issued a parking citation.
Kahlstorf said he has been instructed by his attorney to videotape encounters with Wackenhut, and so Kimbrell got a video camera and recorded the incident. Kahlstorf said a guard spit on the camera and threatened to shoot Kimbrell in the head.
The incident follows a previous conflict on Oct. 20 involving Wackenhut and Pacific Wings employees at the state airport manager's conference room.
Police charged Kahlstorf with harassment and resisting arrest and a Pacific Wings employee with third-degree assault. But Kahlstorf alleged he was assaulted after being handcuffed.
John Cluney, the Wackenhut manager on Maui, said he has been instructed by his firm not to comment and to turn over reports of the incident to state airport officials for their review.