Dozens of Honolulu and Hawaii police used a battering ram in a pointless attack on a house, armed with a bogus affidavit from a helicopter pilot who claimed that backyard bamboo was marijuana, homeowners claim in court.

Two families sued the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii, and seven named police officers, in First Circuit Court.

Plaintiffs Paul and Sandra Tam, and their next-door neighbors Paula Kinimaka and Brian Gonzaga say the defendants terrorized them and destroyed their property in a two-hour search that turned up nothing but bamboo plants.

It wasn’t the first time, they say.

In 2011, “a state court specifically concluded that defendant [Officer Joseph] Hanawahine’s claimed ability to observe marijuana plants with his naked eye from over 500 feet above the ground was not credible,” the complaint states. But “defendants Hanawahine and the city continued to conduct such warrantless unconstitutional searches over residential areas. …”

Photo courtesy seanmcgrath.

—Chad Blair