Hawaii island police release body-camera footage from fatal shooting of suspect who allegedly attacked officers with knives
HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
A screenshot of from the body-camera footage of a Hilo patrol officer from the fatal shooting of suspect who allegedly attacked officers.
HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
A screenshot of from the body-camera footage of a Hilo patrol officer from the fatal shooting of a suspect who allegedly attacked officers with knives. One officer was injured.
Hawaii County police released body-worn camera footage this morning from the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old man who allegedly slashed an officer’s forearm with a knife Friday morning while officers searched a Hilo home after the security alarm was triggered.
The footage begins with a view of an empty bedroom then slowly pans to officers huddled before a partially opened doorway they were attempting to open. An officer is seen attempting to turn the door handle of the bedroom, which was the only room that was locked and the last area the three officers needed to clear.
One officer uses his shoulder to break the door open, enters and almost immediately cries out in pain before shots ring out in rapid succession.
The footage captures an officer with gun raised running out of the hallway in front of the bedroom and into the living room yelling “shots fired, shots fired.”
The injured officer, who was attacked with two knives, police said, can be heard on the footage groaning. A fellow officer comes to his aid and the footage shows one officer with gun drawn moving toward the bedroom saying “get him out, get him out.”
“We need an ambulance,” one of the officers yells.
“I’m good, I’m good, I’m good, I’m good, ahhh, I’m good brah,” the injured officer tells his colleagues.
Outside the front of the home, the officer with his gun raised asks the injured officer “is he still in there?” referring to the suspect. “He’s down,” the injured officer replies.
The camera shows an officer on one knee in front the carport with his pistol on the ground and a gash to his right forearm, with blood coming out.
“I got you, I got you,” a fellow officer says as he unravels an orange tourniquet and ties it around the officer’s upper right bicep as blood continues to drip onto the pavement. “It’s gonna hurt.”
Officers wore body cameras but police said no footage was recovered from the injured officer. No footage was provided of the actual shooting.
Police are investigating why the officer’s camera was not recording. The officer was treated at Hilo Medical Center and released.
