Security guard who shot dog at airport will not be charged

Criminal charges will not be filed, at least “for now,” against a private security officer who fatally shot a family dog at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on March 28, state Attorney General Doug Chin said Thursday.

“At this time, the evidence is insufficient to prove criminal charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” Chin said in a statement.

Reached by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday, the security officer said he had no comment on the announcement. The Star-Advertiser has not identified him because he has not been charged with a crime.

His employer, Securitas Security Services USA Inc., also said it would have no comment.

The state Department of Transportation, which oversees airport operations, said the officer was injured during the shooting and has been on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Leisha Ramos, owner of the 2-year-old pit bull mix named Kai‘ele, said she met with Chin at his office Thursday morning. She said she was told there were two witnesses but no video of the shooting.

“It’s heartbreaking and discouraging,” said Ramos, 25, of Mililani. “I would have thought, it’s the airport, they seem so high on security but they don’t have cameras. It makes no sense to me. You would think they would have cameras all over the place. Funny how that one area doesn’t have a camera. It’s just unfortunate. I keep my faith in God, and I hope and pray that justice does get served.”

Ramos said that Chin “was really nice about it. He understood where I was coming from. He said, ‘Sorry about the whole situation.’”

But Ramos called Chin’s decision not to pursue criminal charges “very unfair.”

“They said they don’t have enough evidence to make a case right now,” Ramos said. “They didn’t go into detail. I find it to be very unfair. If it was a police dog that got shot, that guy would be in jail right now. If it had been a civilian that shot a dog, he’d be in jail right now.”

Ramos has four children — ages 7 months, 7, 8 and 11 — and only the oldest knows how Kai‘ele died.

For the rest, Ramos said, “I just told them Kai‘ele went to heaven.”

Securitas previously said the dog was loose in an “unauthorized public area” adjacent to the international arrivals terminal and the Hawaiian Airlines drive-thru check-in area when it tried to attack the officer, who was injured while trying to avoid the dog.

A summary from the company said the dog was “aggressively barking and lunging at tourists in the area,” and when the officer arrived the pit bull was outside its kennel. The company said the dog got away from the owners and began pursuing the officer as he was asking them to leave the unauthorized parking area.

“Despite repeated requests from the officer to the owners to restrain the pursuing pit bull, the owners were unable to control the loose animal,” the statement said.

“The officer attempted to evade the pit bull’s pursuit by moving backwards and sideways,” according to Securitas’ initial statement.“The officer attempted to seek protection by using the coconut trees in that area as a barrier. As the pit bull lunged toward him, the officer fired a single shot at close range, in self-defense to prevent being attacked.”

Securitas said the officer “has expressed his sorrow and condolences to the family for the loss of the pit bull. Securitas management shares the same sentiment in this unfortunate incident.”

Ramos has disputed Securitas’ version of the shooting. She said the officer instigated the encounter and seemed more intent at the time in arguing with her boyfriend.

In a statement Ross Higashi, Airports Division deputy director for the DOT, said, “Our sympathies go out to the dog’s owners and those involved in the incident.”

Higashi said, “We believe the officer involved feared for his safety and acted in self-defense when the unrestrained pit bull lunged at him.”

The DOT urged people to “follow the rules when on airport property.”

For a list of the rules, including designated pet relief areas, visit airports.hawaii.gov/hnl/flights/traveling-with-pets.