A father and daughter duo find themselves enmeshed in legal troubles following a public skirmish with Honolulu police officers. Kaeo Montalbo, 38, and his daughter Naehu Montalbo-Wong, 18, were implicated in a physical altercation outside Farrington High School, which resulted in their arrest last Friday night. As Hawaii News Now reports, Attorney Michael Green claims his clients were merely acting in defense of their family against alleged bullies.
At the heart of the conflict appears to be a narrative of ongoing bullying, leading to a confrontation at a football game. According to Green, "They’re at a football game, and there’s a threat made to one of the younger daughters, so the entire family gets up to leave, and then one of the girls is confronted inside in front of the vice principal, and one of the bullies takes a swing at her." When the police intervened to quell the disturbance, the Montalbos allegedly responded physically, with accusations that Montalbo kicked an officer in the groin, while Montalbo-Wong struck another officer in the face, as per Hawaii News Now.
Despite the severity of the charges, Montalbo and his daughter are not currently behind bars, having been released on bail. Their next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 12. Meanwhile, the video footage of the incident has propagated through local media, showing a chaotic scene involving multiple officers and the accused. Green, in a statement to KITV, contested the idea that his clients sought to harm the officers, saying, "It's impossible there couldn't be contact."
The incident unsurprisingly caught the attention of the Department of Education superintendent, Keith Hayashi, who reiterated the institution's hardline stance against bullying. "I really want to encourage if adults hear things that are happening outside in the community, when the school, you know, to bring it to the attention of the school administration before it gets to a point where things erupt," Hayashi told KITV. The legal consequence for Montalbo and Montalbo-Wong, should they be found guilty, could be up to five years of incarceration. They are set to return to court for arraignment and plea on Oct. 20.
