An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment today against 39-year-old Hokuokalani J. Patoc, charging him with first- degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer in connection with last week’s brutal attack on a Honolulu police officer in Laie.

Patoc also is charged with first-degree unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle and second-degree resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle. The first- degree attempted murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Patoc, whose bail is set at $1 million, is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

Police responded to a reported road rage incident in Laie just before 5 a.m. Feb. 16, with officers arriving at Iosepa Street to find a man standing next to a vehicle in the middle of the road, according to court documents. The driver then allegedly struck police officer Nakia Newton twice in the back of the head with an object that resembled a foot-long metal pole and drove off in the officer’s subsidized vehicle.

The stolen vehicle was seen traveling northbound on Kamehameha Highway along the North Shore and in Wahiawa before heading southbound on the H-2 freeway. Officers followed the vehicle as it traveled through Downtown Honolulu and came to a stop in front of Iolani Palace on South King Street.

After a brief struggle, officers arrested the driver, identified by police as Patoc, at about 7 a.m.

Newton suffered skull fractures, bleeding in his brain and a scalp laceration. He was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition but has since been released and is recovering at home, according to HPD.

Police recovered a white car jack stand extension from the scene where Newton was attacked, court documents said.

From Jan. 1 to Feb. 20, there were eight assaults on law enforcement officers, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

In a statement today, State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers’ President Robert Cavaco said, “There should be zero tolerance for any attack on a police officer because our officers risk their lives daily to keep the rest of the community safe. These vicious criminals must be held accountable for their actions so they cannot continue to victimize our community.”