Police hunt for man who tried to run down officer

Police on Monday were still trying to find a 29-year-old man who allegedly drove a van toward one of their officers Sunday night in Waianae, prompting another officer to respond by shooting at the vehicle.

The suspect is facing arrest on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Detectives initially said officers were called to the scene of a possible domestic disturbance at 9:55 p.m. Sunday. Deputy Chief John McCarthy said at a press conference that the man was armed with knives, he said.

When officers arrived at the scene, they said, the man drove toward one of them, who managed to avoid injury. Meanwhile another police officer, fearing for the other officer’s life, fired a single shot from her handgun at the fleeing van but missed. The van traveled a few hundred yards, and the suspect reportedly got out and fled on foot into the brush.

McCarthy said the man is a Waianae Coast resident known to police but would not identify him or give a description. “I don’t think he’s a real danger to the public,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, a 42-year veteran of the force, said it “used to be rare in the old days,” but attacks on police officers are not uncommon, although he did draw a distinction. “Sometimes they’re trying to flee and the officer’s in the way,” he said. In this case “he rammed two cars and drove directly at the one police officer.”

The officer who fired the shot is a two-year HPD veteran, and had not been placed on administrative leave because in this case there is no appearance of wrongdoing, the shooting appears to be justified and the officer does not need time to recover.

It was the second time a suspect tried to attack a police officer over the weekend. Police arrested a 32-year-old man at 9:51 p.m. Saturday for allegedly punching a police officer in Waikiki earlier that night.