Suspect who tries to burn down business is shot by police in Waikele

A Honolulu police officer shot and critically injured a 37-year-old man outside his Waikele residence Thursday after the man was involved in a shooting incident at a Kakaako business earlier in the afternoon.

It was the second officer-involved shooting in two days and the third shooting involving a law enforcement officer this week.

According to Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, the suspect entered the business, identified by witnesses as Advanced Collision Center, around 3 p.m. looking for a former employee. There he threatened employees, fired a single shot into the ground and ignited gasoline in an apparent attempt to burn down the business before fleeing.

The owner of the shop sustained minor injuries extinguishing the fire, Ballard said.

HPD Crime Reduction Unit officers located the suspect about two hours later in a truck in the parking lot of his Lumiaina Street residence and ordered him to exit the vehicle.

Ballard said the man complied and initially appeared to be cooperative before turning and pointing a gun at the officers. One of the officers fired three to four shots, striking the suspect at least once in the chest.

The suspect was transported in critical condition to a local hospital.

Sarah Pacheco, who lives in the same Mahi Ko townhome complex as the suspect, saw the drama unfurl from her backyard.

She said she went outside after hearing one of the officer shout, “Put your hands up!”

Pacheco said she saw two plainclothes officers in bulletproof vests engage the suspect with their guns pointed at him.

“He was outside the truck, and they spent about 20 minutes negotiating with him, calmly enough that I couldn’t hear what they were saying,” she said.

Pacheco said she looked away briefly, then heard one of the officers yell, “Put the gun down!” followed by the sound of four gunshots.

When she looked back, Pacheco said the suspect was down, and additional officers were rushing to the scene.

Earlier in the day, Ballard defended the actions of three plainclothes officers driving unmarked vehicles to stop a man Wednesday they say matched the description of a shoplifting suspect at a busy intersection near the Mililani Walmart in a residential neighborhood.

Two of the officers fired five or six shots at the driver, hitting him in the chest, killing him, she said at a news conference.

Although third-degree theft is a misdemeanor, “it’s still a crime,” Ballard said.

“If the driver of the car — the suspect — had just listened to the orders of the officer, there would have been no danger,” she said, adding at the time of the stop, there was no perception of danger.

The shooting occurred at about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Ballard said the Crime Reduction Unit officers were near the Walmart for an unrelated case when they heard a man was wanted for shoplifting. The first officer spotted a man matching the description of the alleged shoplifter and followed the man as he drove away in what was later identified as a borrowed Toyota pickup truck.

The unmarked police vehicles surrounded the truck as it stopped at the intersection of Lanikuhana Avenue and Anania Drive.

“Because the cars were unmarked, when the suspect stopped at the light, I’m assuming, he was probably unaware that they were even behind him,” Ballard said, emphasizing there was never a pursuit.

The first officer was on the driver’s side of the truck to make sure the suspect stopped the vehicle and to get the suspect’s ID. The second officer stood in front of the truck.

Ballard said the driver then pulled forward toward the second officer partner, prompting the first officer to fire through the window at the driver in fear for his partner’s life.

She said the officer standing in front of the truck also feared for his life and also fired at the driver, while trying to move out of the pickup’s path.

The pickup truck continued down the road about 100 yards and crashed into a tree, critically injuring both passengers, a man and a woman, police said.

The two remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition from crash-related injuries, Ballard said.

Police are “reasonably certain” the driver was the shoplifting suspect but are awaiting warrants to search the truck for stolen merchandise, she said.

Police are investigating the case as first-degree attempted murder, third- degree theft and an unattended death as well as a major motor vehicle collision.

The officers who fired shots have 18 and eight years of service, while the third officer has 16 years on the force.

All three were placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in an officer-involved shooting.

Ballard said, “It’s a trend we really are concerned about. It’s not only here. We are seeing violence against police officers throughout the country. … It is increasing. They fail to listen to the directions of the officers.”

The 26-year-old suspect, whose identity has yet to be released, had one misdemeanor conviction, an outstanding warrant and was on supervised release for a second-degree escape case, police said.

On Monday a sheriff’s deputy shot a 28-year-old man at the state Capitol. According to Public Safety Director Nolan Espinda, the man was drinking alcohol in the Capitol rotunda and ignored the deputy’s commands to leave. A struggle ensued during which the deputy shot the man in the chest.

The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital, where he later died.