Police: New ACLU of Utah legal professional fired gun at automobile together with his children inside

SALT LAKE CITY – Just a day after the Utah American Civil Liberties Union announced it had hired Aaron Kinikini as its new attorney, Salt Lake police arrested him after saying he had fired a gun at a car in which his children rode.

The mother of at least three of Kinkini’s children came to pick them up at his apartment on Friday evening. The woman and three children were in the vehicle when Kinikini “stood behind the vehicle and prevented the victim from leaving,” according to a police affidavit.

Kinkini told police that the woman “hit him at high speed,” the affidavit said. Police say he then pulled a pistol and shot the vehicle, hitting the “front and rear tires on the driver’s side”.

The report does not indicate whether anyone in the vehicle was injured by the gunfire.

Kinikini was detained in Salt Lake County Jail for investigations into grievous bodily harm, three times domestic violence in the presence of a child, illegal detention, criminal mischief and illicit firearm dispensing.

Kinikini’s Twitter account says he has five children. Court records show that divorce proceedings took place in 2014.

Police have requested that he be held without bail, saying his release would “pose a significant threat to another person or community, or likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court if released on bail,” it said affidavit.

A Utah ACLU spokesman declined to comment on Kinikini’s arrest on Saturday.

Kinikini is a graduate of the University of Utah’s SJ Quinney College of Law, most recently serving as Legal Director at the Utah Disability Law Center, and an active member of the Utah State Bar, according to a press release distributed Thursday by the ACLU.

The press release promotes Kinikini’s legal career and states that he has “a proven record of active and innovative civil rights litigation for clients of all ages.” The Utah ACLU wrote that in 2018 the organization worked with the Disability Law Center, then under the legal direction of Kinikini, to reach a positive settlement with the state of Utah to “provide legal protection for adults with disabilities who are at Guardianship procedures are involved, expand and empower their parents. “

The publication also includes a quote attributed to Kinikini in which he shared his excitement about joining the organization and working for the disadvantaged.

“I am honored and happy to join this organization as it continues to expand its legal work beyond the courthouse and organize itself on the grassroots and endeavor to get in touch with color communities, the unprotected, imprisoned and all Utahns whose rights are to support and empower them and human rights are at risk, ”said Kinikini.