LIHUE — Kauai County Councilmember Arthur Brun was indicted Wednesday on felony charges for allegedly running from police during a traffic stop two weeks ago and hitting an officer with his car in the process.
Brun, 47, faces two felony counts — assault against a law enforcement officer and resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle. Both charges are punishable by up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. He is set to be arraigned in Fifth Circuit Court on Dec. 11.
Police pulled Brun over on Rice Street in front of the post office around 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. A KPD press release said that when police approached the “dark-tinted silver Honda sedan” Brun was driving, he fled the scene, hitting one officer, identified in the indictment as Lt. James Miller.
Brun led police on a car chase that ended about 10 minutes later and several miles north, near the entrance to Kauai Beach Resort, according to the press release.
Brun was transported to Wilcox Medical Center for a medical evaluation, then brought to police headquarters, where he was detained until the following day, when he was released on a $10,000 bond.
He declined to comment when reached by telephone.
Brun, who lives in Waimea, was elected in 2016 with 11,003 votes and re-elected two years later with 9,398 votes. He also ran for the council in 2014, finishing ninth with 8,120 votes.
Brun is chair of the Parks &Recreation/Transportation Committee, and is vice chair of the Public Safety &Human Service Committee. He is a member of the Planning Committee, Housing &Intergovernmental Relations Committee.
He did attend Wednesday’s
committee meeting. He was not present at the Nov. 6 County Council meeting. His fellow councilmembers did not address Brun’s arrest or absence and have not indicated publicly whether the charges will affect his status. No members of the public asked about Brun’s status at the meeting, either.
The county clerk’s office issued a statement shortly after Brun’s arrest, saying, “The council is currently awaiting further information in regards to the facts surrounding the arrest. Any action to remove Councilmember Brun from his seat as a Councilmember will need to follow the process outlined in Kauai County Charter.”
The charter contains two sections related to disciplinary action against councilmembers.
According to the county charter, “any officer appointed or elected may be impeached for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office,” and any member of the council that is convicted of a felony “shall immediately forfeit the office.”
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Caleb Loehrer, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0441 or cloehrer@thegardenisland.com.
