The Maui News Saturday, October 22, 2005

Pacific Wings chief claims assault by guards

KAHULUI – At a meeting at Kahului Airport to discuss security Thursday, the president of Pacific Wings Airlines says security personnel jumped him, handcuffed him and assaulted him.

Kahlstorf said he and Goshorn were placed under citizen’s arrest by Wackenhut and turned over to Maui police. Kahlstorf was charged with harassment and resisting arrest, and Goshorn was

charged with third-degree assault. Both were released Friday morning after bail was posted by Frank Ford, Kahlstorf’s partner in the airline.

The Airports Division was investigating Friday, and Kahlstorf filed a written report with both the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration.

TSA Maui Director Lowrey Leong said he was making inquiries but could not say anything more. Roy Sakata, the state’s airport operations officer in Honolulu, said the state was “investigating the entire incident” but had nothing to add as of late Friday.

Kahlstorf says Wackenhut personnel were intent on attacking him. When Goshorn refused to leave him alone, that saved Kahlstorf from a worse beating but cost Goshorn a beating himself, Kahlstorf said.

“They really wanted me in that room alone,” Kahlstorf said Friday morning, still emotional and shaken from the encounter.

Kahea Reinhardt, the Pacific Wings manager on duty, who was chased from the meeting room by Tam Ho, said she looked back and saw Tam Ho beating Goshorn. She said Goshorn never made any gesture toward Tam Ho, just “covered his head” when Tam Ho began hitting him.

She said Tam Ho knocked Goshorn to the floor, then turned to chase Ford. Goshorn started to stand, and Tam Ho went back and started beating him again on the head.

Goshorn, a pilot who is also the TSA security coordinator for the airline, “looked terrified,” said Reinhardt.

A senior vice president for Wackenhut Corp. in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., said, via e-mail, that the company had no comment; and its employees on Maui were ordered not to talk to reporters.

The Maui Police Department referred inquiries to the state Airports Division.

According to Kahlstorf, Wackenhut guards, who provide security under contract at the airport, had been harassing his employees for months. Thursday’s meeting was the result of another Wackenhut citizen’s arrest of a Pacific Wings employee, pilot Roman Sarkissian, about noon that day.

Sarkissian also ended up in the Wailuku police lockup. He was charged with entering a restricted area – the airport operating area (flight operations) – without permission. He also was bailed out by Ford.

Kahlstorf says Wackenhut wouldn’t tell him where Sarkissian was or what he was supposed to have done, although he inferred from a TSA request that it had something to do with Sarkissian’s ID.

Kahlstorf says that flight crew members don’t need separate ID, “although ours have it anyway,” and that “it is a felony to mess with a uniformed flight crew member.”

This is not the first time Pacific Wings has complained about Wackenhut. In February 2004 a passenger who claimed her California driver’s license had been stolen was prevented by Pacific Wings’ employees from boarding a flight to Hilo.

A Wackenhut guard, who was a moonlighting Maui police officer, wrote up a stolen identification report for the woman on the spot. When Pacific Wings refused to accept what it regarded as a “bogus” ID, Kahlstorf complained that Wackenhut and TSA personnel “pressured” his employees to accept the ID.

Kahlstorf alleges that Wackenhut guards have continued to harass his employees, including trying to shut down their Memorial Day barbecue.

He says the harassment has “typically taken the form of small, petty things, like interfering with our passenger processing, or hindering our employees as they attempt to do their work.”

Complaints to the police and airport management were fruitless, he says.

In his written report to the TSA, Kahlstorf says, “Wackenhut has become more aggressive in recent days, demanding information about our employees on the pretext of investigating AOA ’violations’ allegedly observed days (or weeks) earlier; interfering with company employee functions; (and) making derogatory comments about the airline to members of the public and other airline companies.”

Kahlstorf says he asked for a meeting with TSA, Wackenhut and acting airport manager Dale Tsubaki at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

According to Reinhardt, she was there with Kahlstorf, Ford, Goshorn and Tsubaki.

“Greg asked if Mr. Tam Ho would attend. Dale said no, but Mr. Tam Ho came in briefly. I can’t remember what was said.

“We waited for TSA. Dale left and said he’d be back when TSA got here.

“It was just the four of us. Maybe 15 or 20 minutes after Dale left, Mr. Tam Ho came in the back door with a lady (a secretary in the airport management office) and three or four guards from Wackenhut in uniform.

“He walked up to Greg and said he was under arrest.”

She says Kahlstorf, who was sitting in a chair, said, “’What!” and Tam Ho said, “’Come with us,’ and tried to handcuff Greg.”

Kahlstorf says Tam Ho and three other Wackenhut guards pulled him down, threw him on his belly and handcuffed him.

Reinhardt says, “They all huddled on Greg, who just laid there.

“Mr. Tam Ho was yelling, ’Get out of here, get out!’ The three of us (Ford, Reinhardt and Goshorn), we jumped up. He looked at Will and Frank and yelled, ’Get out!’ “

Kahlstorf believes that Goshorn was afraid of leaving his boss alone with the guards, but Reinhardt recalls Goshorn saying to Tam Ho, “I’m going.”

She says, “Mr. Tam Ho said, ’What? You want to go?’ “

She ran out, and the women present “started screaming.” She adds, “Through the door I could see Mr. Tam Ho cornered Will, Mr. Tam Ho just flipped out.”

Reinhardt says Tam Ho turned from Goshorn and went after Ford. Kahlstorf says it was because Ford was trying to take a picture with the camera in his cell phone.

Reinhardt says that Tam Ho “went back and started beating Will again.”

Kahlstorf says that when he was alone, Tam Ho stomped him in the head and he “went black.”

Friday morning, Kahlstorf said that his vision was blurred in one eye. Goshorn was examined at Maui Memorial Medical Center for injuries to his face and head, and released. He could not be reached Friday.

Kahlstorf says Wackenhut guards refused at least 20 requests to call an ambulance or to get medical help for Goshorn, whose eye was swollen shut.

He says the guards laughed and taunted him.

The assaults happened sometime after 3 p.m. Police logs show that Kahlstorf and Goshorn were arrested by Maui police just before 5:30 p.m.

Sarkissian, who was taken into Wackenhut custody around noon, was turned over to Maui police at 3:10 p.m.

Maui police referred questions to the Airports Division, but Lt. Jon Morioka in the community relations division said that there is “nothing written in law” about how long someone making a citizen’s arrest can detain a person before calling police.

Morioka gave the example of a retail store catching a shoplifter. Store employees could detain the suspect in a back room, collect the merchandise and take pictures before calling police, he said.

Kahlstorf says that when he asked the police to be called, he was told they were on the way but a Wackenhut officer “also stated that ’everyone here is current or former Maui PD’ and that I shouldn’t expect any help from them.

“They also stated that ’You’re the one in handcuffs . . no one will believe it.’ “

Tam Ho is a retired assistant police chief.