It’s a massive escalation. For comparison, from March through July, HPD issued only 9,465 coronavirus-related citations, according to the court’s log. The busiest month was April with 5,648 citations.

Fast forward to now: Officers handed out 5,000 citations just last weekend, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said this week.

The mountain of citations illustrates how Caldwell has embraced the police department as a tool for addressing the pandemic. However, his strategy is causing anger and stress among residents.

“This is very abusive,” said Patrick Steinemann who was cited in Kailua last month when he was riding through a park by himself. “This is detrimental to people’s health, and it makes no sense.”

A review of court records yielded numerous citations that seem to have little to do with protecting public health.

Officers have issued citations to individuals walking alone outside, parents at the beach with their own children and to homeless people who live outdoors. One man was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation, his citation shows. When officers asked him where he was going, he said he was just “driving around.” He was cited for engaging in nonessential activity.

The narrative descriptions on some citations document innocuous activity.

“While on routine patrol, I observed a female exercising inside Waipio Neighborhood Park,” one officer wrote. “Female was stopped and cited for park closure.”

Everyone who receives a citation gets a court date, which can be attended via Zoom. People found in violation are guilty of a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, up to a year in jail or both.