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The fatal shooting by a sheriff’s deputy Monday night of a 28-year-old man at the state Capitol was the second in the area in the last four months.
The deputy was making his usual rounds when he spotted a man with an open bottle of alcohol at the Ewa-makai corner of the Capitol rotunda at about 8:20 p.m.
The man disregarded the deputy’s repeated orders to dispose of the open container of alcohol and to leave the premises, Department of Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda said. The man initiated a struggle, and “in fear of additional imminent danger, the deputy discharged his firearm, striking the male,” he said, adding he believes a single shot was fired at the man’s upper torso.
Espinda described it as an “extreme struggle,” with arms wrapped around the deputy’s head and upper torso.
Deputies responded and performed CPR until Emergency Medical Services arrived and took the man to the nearest hospital, where he died.
The deputy, described by EMS as a man in his 30s, was taken to the hospital to be assessed as a precaution.
The deputy, who has less than two years of service (hired in May 2017), was placed on administrative leave and restricted duty, as in any officer-involved shooting.
It was the second recent incident involving sheriff’s deputies.
On Oct. 7 sheriff’s deputies, after failing to convince a man to give up a pair of garden shears and a machete near the Capitol, called police. Police shot and killed 39-year-old Tison Dinney within eight minutes of their arrival.
Following that police-involved shooting, deputy sheriffs were not told to do anything differently as Public Safety’s review of that case did not indicate the need for any significant changes.
Despite the abundance of security cameras, Espinda said, “Our immediate review of the Capitol security CCTV system indicates that the camera … there are no CCTV coverage of where the incident occurred at.”
Deputies are not equipped with body-worn cameras or Tasers, but Public Safety will be seeking them.
Espinda said that the Capitol Patrol Section was fully staffed Monday night, but would not say how many were on duty, saying it was a “sensitive issue.”
A current bill in the state Legislature, HB 1488, HD 1, addresses security concerns at the Capitol and Washington Place.
It was the second officer-involved shooting thus far this year.
A veteran Honolulu Police Department officer Jan. 29 shot and killed a 51-year-old Ewa Beach man who apparently sped his vehicle toward the officer at a traffic stop in Kalihi.
Last year Oahu saw 11 officer-involved incidents in which six of the victims died, the highest number of fatal police shootings on Oahu since 2013.
In the October incident a police officer shot and killed Dinney in the area across South Beretania Street from the state Capitol on the grounds of the state Department of Health. Dinney died from a single gunshot wound to the torso.
Deputy sheriffs called police after Dinney refused to surrender a pair of garden shears and a machete, which he allegedly used to threaten someone. Deputies talked for a half-hour with Dinney before calling police.
The law calls for each incident to be investigated internally by the officer’s respective departments. Afterward the investigations will be examined by the state Law Enforcement Officer Independent Review Board, a panel established in 2017 to evaluate the fairness of officer-involved shooting investigations and determine whether criminal prosecution or further investigation is warranted.
Meanwhile the family of a man shot and killed by a Honolulu police officer in Laie two years ago filed a lawsuit last month disputing the police version of the shooting.
Police said 29-year-old Cameron Johnson was in a stolen vehicle at Malaekahana Beach on Jan. 13, 2017, when he drove at a police officer who opened fire to defend himself.
The federal lawsuit, however, claims the officer fired without being threatened by Johnson’s vehicle.
Star-Advertiser staff writer Tim Hurley contributed to this report.
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