A man accused of brandishing a gun at a Maui planning department office would have had time to shoot and kill numerous people in the hour and a half it took for county officials to notify police, according to a Maui Police Department review of the May 29 incident. 

The review, and a letter from Maui Police Chief John Pelletier to Mayor Richard Bissen and other officials, say the incident exposed alarming gaps in the county’s security protocols that urgently need to be fixed, according to documents obtained by Civil Beat through a public records request.

Pelletier said there had been other security-related incidents in which “public safety issues brought forth by law enforcement are delayed, disregarded, or overshadowed by competing political priorities.” He had been trying for more than a year and a half to get the county to step up its security.

“While policy disagreements are expected in government, the failure to address known public safety concerns can have significant consequences for the community, first responders, and victims of crime,” he wrote.

Bissen and Managing Director Josiah Nishita were off-island and unavailable during the May 29 incident, Pelletier wrote, and though there is a clear line of succession, it was uncertain who was in charge. Bissen had notified the county he would be leaving the island, but the notice stated it would not be until the following day.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first critical event or incident where leadership was unavailable to address situations,” Pelletier wrote.

Asked by Civil Beat to elaborate, Pelletier did not offer specifics, saying, “This is not an isolated occurrence. Previous concerns have been expressed about similar rapidly evolving and dynamic situations.”

Nishita, however, said that several assertions in Pelletier’s letter and MPD’s assessment were incorrect, including Bissen’s whereabouts on May 29. He said Bissen was in Lahaina that day. Nishita said he was about to fly to Oʻahu, but neither he nor the mayor were informed of the incident involving Basin until after MPD learned of it.

“Mayor Bissen was reachable,” Nishita said.

Bissen said in a prepared statement that throughout his career he has been committed to protecting the community, including county employees. He said he implemented the county’s first security policy and commissioned its first security assessment.

“These were proactive steps to identify vulnerabilities; strengthen protections and create a safer environment for our employees and the public they serve,” Bissen wrote in the statement.

Civil Beat obtained Pelletier’s letter, a chronology of events on May 29, an MPD review of the case and emails predating the May 29 incident about security at county buildings through the Uniform Information Practices Act.

Kirill Basin, who has filed to run for Congress, is accused of flashing a beige gun and threatening county employees at a planning office at the One Main Plaza Building in Wailuku, which is privately owned.

Police say after Basin was arrested hours later in Kīhei, where he lives, they discovered an unloaded pellet gun and a pistol magazine.

Basin fled the planning office confrontation on a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle with no plates, police say, at about 9:30 a.m. But it wasn’t until nearly 11 a.m. that a county employee called MPD, according to the department’s chronology. There was also a delay in notifying county employees about what was going on, MPD’s review found.

“County employees had already heard rumors regarding the incident, which caused concern and uncertainty among staff,” the review stated. “Immediate communication is essential to ensure employees receive accurate information and to reduce confusion, speculation and unnecessary concern.”

County officials called MPD to ask if they should lock down county offices, the review found, even though the county should have its own protocols for making that determination.

The review calls for a new policy requiring county workers to immediately report crimes to their bosses, who should report them to the managing director and then to MPD. Workers should get semi-annual training on how to deal with attackers, and during incidents, they should get clear direction on whether to evacuate, shelter in place or take other actions.

But Nishita said the county already has security protocols in place calling for workers to go up the chain of command when they see something suspicious and call 911 immediately if danger is imminent.

MPD’s review also says the county urgently needs to beef up security at county facilities, especially the county building at 200 South High Street. The review said that MPD had set aside $400,000 to hire security, but the proposal was rejected by unnamed administrators.

“There are individuals opposed to security because the optic is that the County is not welcoming,” the review said. “This reasoning should not take precedence over public safety.”

Nishita disputed this assertion as well. He said that the administration went through the proper channels of proposing funding for metal detectors to the county council, where it was rejected.

“Funds may not be used for a security screening station” at the main county building, according to the council’s June 5 budget ordinance.

The council, however, did approve money for security guards, and then kicked in an additional $50,000 to its fiscal year 2027 budget after the security incident.

“Things are already moving,” Nishita said.

Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee told Civil Beat that she convened an informal task force after the incident to consider how to make county facilities safer — what she refers to as “prevention, protection and protocol.” Lee said her task force now is assessing the needs and plans to work with Bissen to determine how much it will all cost.

“I’d like us to all be coordinated with regard to these three facets of safety, so that all county employees would have known to just pick up the phone and call 911.”

As it is, she said, the county has only one security officer.

“We need to hire more people to provide safety, not only in the main county building but other areas where county workers are,” Lee said.

Pelletier had started his campaign for increased security in September 2025 following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at a college rally in Utah.  

“My understanding is the county has already purchased metal detectors and we are one of the few municipalities that has nothing as far as a uniformed security presence,” Pelletier wrote Lee and Nishita in a Sept. 10, 2025 email.

“We believe that the escalation of political violence that we’re witnessing is only going to continue and it would be something that should seriously be considered. Local law-enforcement is not a substitute for security at government buildings (as there is not law-enforcement at the state capital as an example).”

In a Feb. 17 email, county worker Blake Takayama told Pelletier that the county had recently gotten a screening machine out of storage and serviced it so that it could be used at the county building. The county would have to hire two security officers to run it, with another two to monitor the building and grounds and staff events such as county council meetings and to escort workers to their cars during off-hours.

Nishita acknowledged in his interview with Civil Beat Wednesday that the county years ago bought a metal detector, but it was put in storage after the council repeatedly rejected its use.

Basin, the suspect in the May 29 incident, has been charged with two counts of felony terroristic threatening. A pretrial conference in that case is set for July 30. He is also facing felony assault charges for an incident that occurred 12 days after the one at the Maui planning office for allegedly injuring a registered nurse at Maui Memorial Medical Center. An arraignment and plea in that case both are scheduled for Friday.

In addition, seven people have sought protective orders against Basin, including Maui County Councilman Tom Cook and his executive assistant, Jared Agtunong, who say that Basin accosted them after a community meeting two days before the alleged gun brandishing.