Officer cleared of shooting Big Island pitbull

HONOLULU (AP) — Attorney General Doug Chin announced that no criminal charges will be filed against the Securitas law enforcement officer involved in the death of an unrestrained pit bull at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport the night of March 28.

“We thank the investigators at the Office of the Attorney General for their comprehensive and independent investigation regarding this incident. We believe the officer involved feared for his safety and acted in self-defense when the unrestrained pit bull lunged at him,” said Ross Higashi, Hawaii Department of Transportation, Airports Division deputy director, in response to the findings in a press release Thursday. “Our sympathies go out to the dog’s owners and those involved in the incident.”

The dog’s owner, Leisha Ramos, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after the incident that the security guard shot her 2-year-old, pit-bull mix dog, Kai‘ele, after they arrived on separate flights from Hawaii island.

Ramos said her boyfriend picked up Kai‘ele at the air cargo area, then drove his truck and parked near a grassy area just mauka of the Hawaiian Airlines terminal.

She said Kai‘ele was left chained to a nearby coconut tree, and her boyfriend had gone to gather her luggage at the baggage claim area.

Ramos said the security officer parked his truck, got out of his vehicle, and was shouting at her and her boyfriend that they had to leave and remove the dog from the area. She said he shouted at them and pulled out his weapon.

She said Kai‘ele’s chain broke but that she grabbed his collar before the dog pulled away. Ramos said she was holding her 5-month-old baby when the guard shot the dog in the forehead from a few feet away.

The Securitas officer was injured in the incident. He has been on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.