HONOLULU — The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney declined to file charges against the 10 people arrested for allegedly blocking a bus filled with travel nurses during the Hawaii Nurses Association strike. 

The Prosecuting Attorney’s office said there was a lack of evidence to prove the cases beyond a reasonable doubt, according to a news release. 

Prosecutors also filed motions in each case that included an arrest and citation asking the Honolulu District County to dismiss the citations. District Court judges granted that request and dismissed all charges without prejudice. 

On Sept. 23, police officers arrested 10 people, including newly elected state Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto and Democratic candidate for the House Ikaika Hussey, for blocking a bus carrying replacement nurses from entering Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, where some 600 nurses had been locked out in a protracted labor dispute.

The demonstrators reportedly sat in a driveway and linked arms to prevent the bus from passing and were arrested on suspicion of obstructing, which is a petty misdemeanor under Hawaii Revised Statutes 711-1105. Each was released on $50 bail, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

On Oct. 3, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children and the Hawaii Nurses Association finally agreed on a new three-year contract, ending the strike and more than a year of negotiations.