Suspect charged with assaulting police following incident at Hawaii Island shopping center

PUNA (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Mountain View man was arrested after he allegedly assaulted two police officers at a shopping center in Kea‘au on Friday, Sept. 18.

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Puna patrol officers responded to a call about a disturbance at a shopping center on Kea‘au- Pāhoa Road shortly after 8 p.m.

Upon arrival, officers say Justin Santagati, 44, approached them, acting disorderly and aggressive.

He was arrested after reportedly refusing to comply.

While officers attempted to put him in their vehicle, Santagati allegedly became combative, head butting one officer and kicking another several times in the chest, according to police.

Both officers were treated at the Hilo Benioff Medical Center emergency room for minor injuries. The officers have since been released.

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Santagati was taken to the East Hawaii Detention Facility as detectives continued the investigation. 

After conferring with the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney on Saturday afternoon, police charged Santagati with two counts of first-degree assault against a law enforcement officer and one count of disorderly conduct.

His bail was set at $41,000. 

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Michael Matsumura at (808) 961-2386 or email [email protected].

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