Invoking a litany of recent cases involving young men who lost their lives at the hands of law enforcement, a group of some 50 demonstrators marched through Waikiki on Friday to protest the acquittal of U.S. State Department special agent Christopher Deedy for murder in the shooting death of Kollin Elderts.
"What happened to (Elderts) is very much related to what has been going on the mainland with Eric Garner, who was choked to death by police officers in New York, or the shooting of Michael Brown in Missouri," said Liz Rees, a member of World Can’t Wait, one of several activist groups that are part of the Justice for Kollin Elderts Coalition. "Enough is enough. These cases exemplify the racist system and people are standing up against this kind of injustice."
Deedy, who was in Hawaii to provide security for the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference, killed Elderts during an early morning confrontation in a Waikiki McDonald’s on Nov. 5, 2011. He had arrived in Honolulu earlier that day but was off-duty when the incident occurred.
State prosecutors argued that Deedy was drunk and initiated the fight with Elderts.
Deedy testified that he had intervened to stop Elderts from harassing another customer and that he shot Elderts in self-defense as the confrontation escalated.
The two men arrived at the fast food restaurant separately after drinking with friends. A forensics expert testified that Elderts was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the shooting. Tests also found traces of marijuana in his system. Deedy refused to take a blood test after the shooting and later claimed that he had consumed only one beer while bar hopping that evening.
A 2013 trial ended with a jury unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge. On Thursday, another jury found Deedy not guilty of murder but was unable to decide whether he was guilty of other crimes in connection with Elderts’ killing.
Deedy is eligible to be tried a third time for manslaughter and assault. Circuit Judge Karen Ahn will determine whether to proceed with another trial following a scheduled status conference later this month.
"We are incredibly outraged at the injustice that has happened," said Kalamaokaaina Niheu, one of the event organizers. "We understand that here in Hawaii young men of color — kanaka maoli — cannot find justice here. Police officers, agents, can go with impunity and kill young men."
Niheu said the Elderts family was "completely and utterly devastated" by Thursday’s decision.
She read a statement from the family, which stated in part:
"Christopher Deedy is a very irresponsible, cowardly individual that took away the heartbeat of our family and forever changed us. Because of the poor decisions he made that tragic night, including drinking and walking our Waikiki streets with a loaded personal firearm, we can never forgive him."
Niheu said the family is pursuing a new law that would make it illegal for any public servant to consume alcohol while carrying a firearm.
State Rep. Kaniela Ing of Maui attended Friday’s rally and pledged his support for any legislation that would help to prevent a repeat of the Deedy shooting
"I have your back," the 25-year-old legislator said.
Demonstrators rallied outside the Honolulu Zoo before marching with homemade signs down Kalakaua Avenue, across Royal Hawaiian Avenue to the McDonald’s restaurant on Kuhio Avenue where Elderts was killed.
Various speakers used the occasion to address a wide range of concerns, identifying Elderts’ killing as evidence of systemic injustices with roots in racism, militarism and occupation.
Shane Pale, 44, of Kuliouou, brought his sons Punia, 12, and Ulupuhi, 9, to the protest as a show of support for the Elderts family and a statement against what he sees as a long history of sanctioned discrimination against young indigenous men.
"Will my own boys have to worry about their safety because of what they say?" Pale said. "People find it hard to believe because we’re shielded by the image of Hawaii put out there for tourism purposes, but this is still a place where authorities can take the life of another brown man and get away with it."
Jonathan Osorio, a professor with the University of Hawaii’s Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, delivered an emotional speech to the assembled demonstrators, expressing his anger at Deedy’s acquittal and his guilt at not attending the trial himself because he trusted the system to deliver "justice."
"I’m tired — I’m really (expletive) tired — of having to defend every single thing that’s good about this place to people who don’t (expletive) understand it," Osorio said. "They ought to try him again. They ought to try him four times, five times if they need to, until they find him guilty. And we ought to start going down to the courthouse."
