Honolulu police are called to testify against fellow officers

Honolulu police officers today will be called to testify against three fellow officers charged with the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap to help determine whether the officers charged should stand trial for second-degree murder and attempted murder.

Demonstrations led by police officers and others demanding an end to the prosecutions are expected to resume today outside District Court on Alakea Street.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher T. Van Marter plans to call 11 witnesses, including Lt. Brandon Nakasone of the Honolulu Police Department’s Professional Standards Office, which is responsible for investigating officers accused of crimes or violating department policies. Officer Chanel Price — who stopped behind the vehicle driven by Sykap, drew her weapon but did not open fire — also is expected to be called as a witness for the prosecution, along with an HPD evidence specialist and officers who will reiterate their grand jury testimony and discuss the footage pulled from their body cameras on April 5, when Sykap was killed.

Sykap had methamphetamine in his system when he was driving a stolen car connected to an alleged spate of crimes over two days and attempted to evade police. The other prosecution witnesses scheduled to appear when the hearing resumes at 1:30 p.m. are evidence specialist Michael Lynch, Brittany Coop, Hideko Yoshihara, Jasmina Eliza, Greyson Alcosiba, Curtis Kubo, Sgt. William Malina, Veronica DeMello and Adam Lipka.

The prosecution is trying to prove that the officers fired into a car that was not moving and that Sykap — along with his brother, Mark, who is free on a $50,000 bond connected to a robbery charge from a separate incident, and juveniles in the vehicle — did not pose a threat near the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Philip Street.

Van Marter, through a spokesman, declined comment, citing a pending prosecution.

Officer Geoffrey H.L. Thom, 42, a five-year HPD veteran, is charged with second-degree murder after allegedly firing into the back of the vehicle, hitting Sykap eight times. Zackary K. Ah Nee, 26, who has been with the department for three years, and his partner Christopher J. Fredeluces, 40, who has 10 years of service with HPD, both face charges of second-degree attempted murder for shooting into the car.

Attorneys for the three officers did not respond to requests for comment.

On July 20, Judge William M. Domingo denied defense motions to dismiss the charges and disqualify Van Marter.

The officers’ attorneys are trying to prove there is no evidence to put their clients on trial after an Oahu grand jury declined to indict them, arguing they were following their training.

Kenneth L. Lawson, a professor at the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law, said the officers testifying Tuesday are under subpoena and will repeat their grand jury testimony or prior statements.

“Police don’t like testifying against other police officers,” Lawson said. “They don’t want to come to court. These officers (scheduled to testify) have already given some kind of statement. He (Van Marter) already knows what these officers are going to say. You are not going to call them if they are not going to support probable cause. For a defense counsel … you are trying to lock in each witness’s testimony. At trial you will have a transcript of what they said under oath. You are trying to get out everything, all this other stuff that can help your defense.”

Attorney Megan K. Kau said the charges against the officers are dividing HPD and the Prosecutor’s Office. Not everyone agrees with the decision to charge the officers, she said.

“This is one of the first cases I’ve seen where police officers are going to have to testify against their beat partners,” Kau said. “It’s going to be extremely divisive for the department, and it is going to be very uncomfortable for them.”

Some officers called to testify wore body cameras that provided footage supporting the prosecution’s case and refuting what the three officers wrote in their reports about the shooting.

“Those police officers are going to be extremely cooperative with the defense attorneys because they are going to want to help their fellow officers,” she said. “It will be interesting to see what happens.”

People who want the case against the officers to stop are expected to gather at 12:30 p.m. on the Hotel Street side of the courthouse on Alakea Street for a rally organized by the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, Hawaii’s law enforcement union.

“SHOPO is asking members and supporters to continue supporting our 3 HPD officers at District Court this Tuesday at 12:30 and again Wednesday if the case continues. If you can come out either day or both it would help the officers tremendously,” wrote retired HPD Lt. Alex Garcia in a note to supporters.

The Sykap family, Refuse Fascism Hawaii and Lesley Gabrielle are organizing another rally to counter the pro-police demonstration. On July 20 the two sides clashed in front of the courthouse when about 75 people demonstrated in favor of prosecuting the three officers.

“There were 70 body camera videos and more than 40 videos from cameras in the area. While the common retort to nearly any criticism of police misconduct and criminal behavior has focused on a few ‘bad apples,’ how many ‘good apples’ were aware of the truth yet did nothing?” Gabrielle said in a news release. “This corrupt system has emboldened HPD to rip parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends from their loved ones for far too long. We demand transparency, accountability, and justice for all victims killed by HPD.”