A renovated ticket lobby at the airport and newly planted trees along stretches of Nimitz Highway aren’t the only things around the airport getting a pre-APEC makeover.
The Sheriff Division’s Airport Patrol is boosting its arsenal with $7,692 worth of “pepperball projectiles, launchers, loaders, and related equipment.”
The purchase came to light in an application to sidestep competitive bidding in order to buy proprietary gear from Pepperball Technologies, Inc. of San Diego.
According to a letter from the company, attached to the request for an exemption:
“…Peppermill Technologies, Inc. is the sole source manufacturer of the PepperBall “non-lethal” system(s), including: PepperBall patented projectiles (Red – featuring PAVA (capsaicin II), powdered pepper irritant, Pava lOX, Green — marking rounds, Clear — water/anti-freeze rounds, Purple — inert scented rounds, Solid — glass breaking), TAC 700, Custom Carbine, FlashLauncher, SA-4 model launchers, HotShot and other PepperBall brand system accessories.
When used, the pepper chemicals cause “incapacitating coughing and a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, throat and skin,” according to the company’s web site.
Do they expect unruly lines of travelers or what?
Here’s what the company has to say about its Pepperball launcher system.
The SA-4 PepperBall system launches up to four ImpactPlus projectiles that strike with 20 foot-pounds of force and release three grams of extremely hot pepper powder (Capsaicin II). That’s twice the impact of standard PepperBall projectiles, and with pepper powder that has been mixed to contain 10 times the active agent of our standard round. It’s impressive stopping power.
This system is an ideal first choice less-lethal option in many use-of-force situations, including non-combatant military scenarios, inmate management correctional scenarios and law enforcement situations including stand-off, single or multiple suspect compliance, dispersal of gangs, bringing suspects out of hiding, busting barricades and personal defense.
I guess the Sheriffs just couldn’t stand watching HPD get all the pepper spray, Tasers, cool Darth Vader armor, and all the other good stuff.
What’s the shelf life of all this? If it isn’t used during APEC, can it be returned or resold?
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In a nod to Hawaii’s multi-ethnic makeup, another version of the pistols was released. One chamber contains concentrated kim chee juice while the others are filled with a bagoong and natto blend. Wide distribution is unlikley since these weapons were deemed lethal.
Who made this thing? Blammo, Inc.? Seriously it looks like a toy gun. Now I want one.
Cute comments for a not-so-cute purchase. According to a community patrol officer speaking off the cuff at one of the Occupy Honolulu rallies , there are supposed to be a bunch of mainland protestors coming to town for APEC.
Is this an inciteful rumor that leads to these Boisse Correa type purchases?
I have heard from state sources that security forces are making contingency plans for 5,000 demonstrators. Nobody close to the anti-APEC organizing have any such illusions.
I find it both interesting and frightening how a paranoid dynamic can easily infect law enforcement types, leading to a dangerously over-excited mindset, prepared to initiate violence, pre-justified as “pre-emptive” or “preventative.”
As Ian reported during the lead up to the Asian Development Bank gathering, HPD was explicitly talking about arresting suspicious people before they committed any crime.
The various police department responses across the country to the “Occupy” movement are not independent from each other. There are professional associations, inter-agency task forces and private security consulting firms who share information, “intelligence,” and advice on strategy and tactics for dealing with civic disruptions.
At “National Security Events” like the APEC gathering, the Feds take control and local law enforcement follow along. There will be a strong, “no nonsense” mindset emanating from the Secret Service. They would rather arrest, suppress and infringe on rights to “free speech” than allow for any embarrassing disruption, much less physical harm to any visiting dignitary.
APEC has come to Hawaii for SECURITY reasons, not for “aloha” and our wonderful culture. Hopefully, the humanity of our HD officers will not disappear if/when they don the black “RoboCop” uniforms of Darth Vaders Imperial Guard.
The Empire IS evil and APEC does SUCK.
If they point that Nerf gun at me, I’d just laugh. Might as well wear clown suits too.
I would like to speculate that as police work becomes more complex, there perhaps needs to be a commensurate increase in the sophistication of the police. This involves not just shiny new toys for cops, but more education. These guys need to get college degrees. But there almost seems to be a popular resistance to dedicating Hawaii to education. There seems to be a degree of alienation to education that one does not find in Europe or Asia — or even in the continental United States.
This reflects the greater conundrum that Hawaii seems to find itself in, that of an old-fashioned small-town culture that finds itself in the 21st century. The local response has been to buy new technology and engage in megaprojects. But a small town cannot handle that; these projects will fall apart under their own weight. The response is to scapegoat a few vocal NIMBYs. This scapegoating is deluded.
The investor Warren Buffet has a saying that “When the tide goes out, we see who is not wearing a bathing suit.” In Hawaii, that is all of us. The economy has declined and no one knows what to do, and the politicians keep embarrassing themselves by reintroducing yesterday’s warmed-over grandiose ideas.
Relatedly, the commentary from an author of the blog “Disappeared News” stated that the Honolulu City Council pushed APEC and the money it would bring in at the expense of civil rights. That misses the point. The point is that APEC is a money loser. The City Council is out of its depth even on something like APEC. It might be better to focus on refining our economy by developing eco-tourism, health tourism, educational tourism, etc. The problem with that is that small-town politicians cannot really grasp that. They want BIG.
You’ll probably recall a past mayoral election where the candidate Andy Anderson stood up and said “We need to get Microsoft to relocate to Hawaii….” He didn’t mean foster high-tech enterprise in Hawaii, he meant the wholesale transplantation of Microsoft from Redmond, WA to Hawaii. (That’s a bit odd considering that the State’s computer system is 43-years-old.) Anderson is smart and had good intentions, but he is really a classic small-town developer out of his depth. Moreover, it very much reflects a “company-town” mentality.
You might also remember the Patrick Swayze movie “Roadhouse”, and a scene where wealthy small-town bully played by Ben Gazzara brags that “I brought the Photomat to this town, I brought the mall, and I am in the process of bringing JC Penny….” At least Abercrombie is not a small-town “el Guapo” like that!