(AP) — A Hawaiʻi appellate court has ruled that Hawaiʻi County’s police chief was legally authorized to request help from other counties during the 2019 protests over the Thirty Meter Telescope on the state’s highest mountain. West Hawaii Today reported the state Intermediate Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the actions of Chief Paul Ferreira took to maintain order during demonstrations blocking a Mauna Kea access road. The opinion says officers from Honolulu and Maui were at the demonstrations at Ferreira’s request and therefore did not violate Hawaiʻi statutes. About 60 Honolulu officers and an unknown number of Maui police joined the operation.

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