Journalist Alleges Assault by Maui Police and ‘Dog’ Chapman Security Guard
The publisher of , a Wailuku-based alternative weekly, alleges he was assaulted this week by a Maui Police Department officer and a security guard with reality TV star Duane “Dog” Chapman’s entourage.
Publisher Tommy Russo filmed most of the incident. His footage shows a Maui police officer appearing to hit Russo’s camera after telling him: “I don’t want to be filmed, and if I don’t want to be filmed, I don’t have to be filmed.”
Russo reports that he came across “Dog the Bounty Hunter”‘s film crew in a parking lot and began filming with his camera out of curiosity. He said he was pushed away and told to stop filming, and was later hit in the mouth by the security guard before he called 911.
When an officer, whom Russo identifies as “Officer Johnson,” arrives, Russo continues filming. In the video, the officer is heard telling Russo, “You cannot film me without my consent, you cannot use my image without my consent.”
Russo identified himself as a member of the press and publisher of MauiTime and said, “Yes I can. You’re a public servant on public property … I can film anything that’s in public like this, it is a First Amendment right to do so.”
The video ends with the officer saying, “Wait till my sergeant gets here.”
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