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SA: …A 43-year-old Halawa prison guard who was being investigated for first-degree sexual assault of a 28-year-old male inmate committed suicide six days after the alleged rape occurred. ….
Breiner Alleges that Peppers has a history of engaging in sexual relations with inmates over a number of years.
He called Peppers’ version of what happened “entertaining,” and “completely inconceivable and utterly implausible.”
Public Safety officials did not respond to Breiner’s allegations that Peppers had a history of having sex with inmates, saying the investigation is ongoing….
Crowell said the sexual assault of this inmate is “indicative of the tip of the iceberg of the problem,” and demonstrates it happens to male and female inmates, and that there is empirical evidence and scholarly literature of underreporting and delayed reporting by both genders.
Peppers said in the video he ‘knew’ the inmate since he was a boy …. Breiner and his associate, Moani Crowell, said their client is recovering from “horrific injuries,” compounded by psychological damage. He was taken to the hospital and held overnight because of profuse bleeding, Breiner said.
At one point in the video, Peppers talked about going into the closet with the inmate. He denied raping the inmate and forcing himself on him, and said he did not want to go to court to explain it….
Peppers said. “I just lived an alternative lifestyle that many would not understand….”
read … Halawa guard who is accused of sex assault takes own life
FBI investigating officers over beating death of Big Island man, lawyer says
HNN: …Vincent Burton, 57, died on May 20 of broken ribs and multiple organ failures. The Medical Examiner ruled the Mountain View man's death a homicide as a result of an “altercation with police.”
"What's very clear is that he was beaten so severely that his internal organs started to fail,” said attorney Myles Breiner.
“In some of the photographs we have from the hospital … you can literally see an imprint of a boot on his chest."…
Breiner said the case has caught the attention of federal authorities, who often investigate police brutality.
"The FBI is involved, they began an investigation. I understand they have the autopsy report, they have the medical records,” he said.
A civil lawsuit against the Hawaii County Police Department will likely be filed in next few months. …
read … FBI investigating officers over beating death of Big Island man, lawyer says
Tourism (but not much else) is booming in Hawaii. Here's why that's a problem
HNN: …researchers point out that almost all of the growth in the economy remains in tourism. That means Hawaii is even more dependent on the fate of the mainland economy.
The report looked at economic data for the first six months of 2018.
Economics Professor Carol Bonham said Hawaii growth has either stopped or reversed in most sectors, including construction, military and government employment, while tourism grows despite a slight impact from the Hawaii Island eruption and devastating storms there and on Kauai.
“What we are seeing is lots of growth in accommodations and food service jobs and not a lot of growth in most of the rest of the economy,” Bonham said.
Meanwhile, he points out the economic boom on the mainland is much more robust, attracting Hawaii residents away to greener pastures.
“People who live in Honolulu who may be aren’t real happy about how expensive it is to live here they have great opportunities elsewhere,” Bonham said.
The out-migration may be responsible for other trends, including falling rents, possibly due to less demand, and fewer people available to fill non-tourism jobs that do open up.
“So those things all sort of mesh together,” Bonham said. “Less population growth, slower job growth, lower inflation, decline in rents.”
As a result the overall economy will grow less than 1 percent, UHERO predicts…
Related: UHERO: Hawaii's Growth Down, But Not Out
read … Tourism (but not much else) is booming in Hawaii. Here's why that's a problem
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