Comic cleared of assailing
dogcatcher
WAILUKU » Comedian Shawn Kaui Hill, also known as Bu La'ia, has been acquitted of two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening and a charge of first-degree assault in an incident involving animal control officers who came to his home in Kula.
Hill said yesterday that he lost his job promoting a Maui-based restaurant chain and spent three months in jail because of the charges.
"Now, I can go on in my life," he said regarding the court verdict Monday night.
Hill is a candidate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the Nov. 2 election.
Hill said he met some rela-tives while at Maui Community Correctional Center and started writing material for his third CD.
Deputy Public Defender Jon Apo argued Hill did not know that the two animal control officers who came to his Hawaiian Homes property were law enforcement officers.
Apo said the officers were "out of control" and seizing dogs without proving just cause for impounding them.
Maui Humane Society Executive Director Jocelyn Bouchard said the officers had gone to Hill's residence on Nov. 18 after he had stopped payment on a $100 check to pay for the dog licenses.
She said Hill had previously received two citations from animal control officers to pay fines and appear in court and that a reasonable person would know they were law enforcement officers.
She said the verdict raises issues about the safety of animal control officers as they do their jobs.
"It obviously gives grave concern for my officers out there," she said.
