A visitor from New Mexico died while scuba diving off Poipu Tuesday afternoon.
Police said Steven Mitchell, 51, was on a scuba diving tour when another diver observed him sinking and unresponsive. Mitchell was brought aboard the boat and bystanders began administering CPR.
Firefighters were alerted at about 3 p.m. and continued life-saving measures after the boat arrived at Kukuiula Harbor. Mitchell was transported Wilcox Memorial Center, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy will determine the cause death but police said foul play is not suspected.
Volunteers with Life’s Bridges, a grief counseling service, assisted Mitchell’s family.
HPD officer accused of domestic abuse
A 41-year-old Honolulu police officer has been charged with 14 counts of abuse of household member, plus second-degree reckless endangering and second-degree terroristic threatening.
Officer Ryan Konishi was arrested Saturday and freed after posting $28,000 bail. A police spokeswoman did not release any details of the charges against him or clarify his work status other than to say his “police powers were removed.”
Konishi is a seven-year police veteran who was assigned to Waikiki.
Maui police captain pleads guilty to groping
A Maui police captain pleaded guilty Wednesday in 2nd Circuit Court to fourth-degree sexual assault for groping a female police detective.
Stephen Orikasa was accused of touching the woman’s buttocks with his hand without her consent during the period of June 16 through June 30, 2017. At the time, Orikasa was commander of the Criminal Investigation Division and a 26-year veteran of the Maui Police Department.
He will be sentenced Oct. 30.
