A Honolulu police officer shot and injured an 18-year-old man Sunday night before arresting him on suspicion of attempted murder at a Waipahu home.
Officers had initially responded to a domestic incident at the time of the confrontation.
According to HPD Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan, two officers were dispatched to a residence on Aniani Place around 7 p.m. Sunday after
a woman, 22, requested the removal of a 23-year-old man from her apartment.
The man, who claimed to be the woman’s husband, may have been her boyfriend instead, as their relationship status was unclear, Logan said.
After the man left the apartment and walked onto the street, the officers were returning to their vehicle when another woman emerged from the same residence, followed him and struck him with what appeared to be a walking stick.
As the officers moved to intervene in the escalating situation between the two, an 18-year-old man came out of the driveway and began swinging a machete at the 23-year-old.
“One officer drew their Taser, the second officer drew their firearm, and after several commands to the
individual to drop the machete, to stop his actions, he continued,” Logan said.
Logan stated that the Taser was not deployed first because there was not enough time.
“It was matter of seconds between the time the male appeared with the machete (and) attacked the individual. The officers had seconds to react before grave danger (happened) to the victim of the machete attack,” Logan said.
The officer, who had crisis intervention training, fired a shot and hit the attacker in the torso after he failed to comply with repeated commands to drop the weapon.
“He dropped to the ground immediately, and he was disarmed at that point,” Logan said. “Medical attention was provided to him.”
According to Logan, the officer was about 10 feet away when he fired the shot.
Emergency Medical Services said paramedics were called to the Aniani Place address at about 7:25 p.m. and treated the 18-year-old for a gunshot wound to the body.
The entire incident lasted approximately 20 minutes before it was resolved.
The 18-year-old attacker was arrested on suspicion
of second-degree attempted murder and is incarcerated.
“He’s currently in the cellblock as we speak,” Logan said. “He’s been released from the hospital with a gunshot wound in the torso, so it’s not a critical incident. He’s still under doctor’s care but right now he’s in custody. He’s been released from the hospital.”
The machete-slashing victim sustained injuries to his arm, consistent with a defensive posture used to block the machete, and is in custody for alleged abuse of a household member, which was the focus of the original call, Logan said.
The 18-year-old man is an immediate relative of the two women, while the 23-year-old man is not directly related to any of the three but has some form
of relationship with the 22-year-old woman.
Logan mentioned that there have been numerous calls to HPD regarding that area over time, but he was uncertain about the specific apartment in question.
The two officers involved, with 10 and 16 years of service in the Pearl City area, were offered administrative leave following the incident; neither one was injured.
Logan also noted that, alongside the criminal investigation, an administrative investigation has been initiated in accordance with department policy.
