DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Local 5 hotel union members walked picket lines earlier this month in front of the Turtle Bay Resort entrance.

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Activist says Turtle Bay
security attacked him

A well-known Oahu nonviolence activist sued the owners and managers of Turtle Bay Resort and its head of security yesterday, alleging resort security attacked him during a one-day union strike.

Kyle Kajihiro claims he was physically restrained, placed in a chokehold and pinned to the ground for shooting video of a Unite Here Local 5 union protest at the resort. Kajihiro said security guards unlawfully held him and confiscated his video, which he had hoped to air on Olelo community television.

The 42-year-old serves as program director for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization. Turtle Bay management did not return calls yesterday.

Since the May 21 incident, Kajihiro said he has continued to suffer pain, sleepless nights and nerve damage. He is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

"I brought this suit to hold people accountable," said Kajihiro, who was flanked by about a dozen supporters outside of state Circuit Court yesterday during a press conference.

"It is wrong that members of the public can be subjected to physical force, violence and intimidation simply because they support the rights of Turtle Bay workers," he said.

The North Shore hotel and the union have been at odds for several years over contract negotiations. The union called for a consumer boycott of the hotel in 2003. Earlier this month, a federal court judge rejected a request for a temporary restraining order by the hotel to prevent union employees from picketing at the entrance to the property.

The new suit alleges that Tom Dougher, Turtle Bay's head of security, and the resort are liable for assault, infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and conversion of property, because they allegedly confiscated Kajihiro's video.

The suit also claims that Turtle Bay security was retaliating against Kajihiro's support of Local 5.

"The resort management has to understand that physical violence and intimidation are not the way that we do things in this community," said Kajihiro's attorney, Jim Bickerton, who took the case on a partial contingency and is recovering additional fees from Local 5.