KEALAKEKUA — A mangled bicycle and pieces of a vehicle were displayed to a jury in 3rd Circuit Court as evidence for the state against a former Hawaii Police officer charged with negligent homicide.
Deputy Prosecutor Kauanoe Jackson spent Thursday and Friday submitting photos of an accident scene and physical evidence recovered at that time to the court. The evidence stems from a March 1, 2015, crash on Waikoloa Road where former police officer Jody Buddemeyer is accused of striking cyclist Jeffrey Surnow, resulting in the 69-year-old’s death.
Buddemeyer has also been charged with tampering with physical evidence and false reporting to law enforcement. The prosecution asserts the defendant cleaned up the accident scene by hiding broken pieces of his car and damaged bits of Surnow’s bike in the trunk of his subsidized police vehicle.
The prosecution’s case also indicates Buddemeyer allegedly left the scene of the accident and falsely reported the incident when it occurred.
On Friday, Officer Kimo Keliipaakaua with the Traffic Enforcement Unit testified about items he recovered from the scene as well as from the Dodge Charger, which he identified to the court as being Buddemeyer’s subsidized police vehicle.
Keliipaakaua testified items such as a piece of the vehicle’s bumper, a fender well, the right side mirror and a carbon fiber frame from the bike were found inside Buddemeyer’s police car. In the center console, the officer told the court, a pair of latex gloves was also found.
Other items found in the trunk were a bike light, screws and clip from the Charger, and rubber tire pieces.
The officer also displayed the bicycle found at the scene.
Keliipaakaua told the jury he and a few other officers went back to the scene to recreate the accident.
“My role was ride my bike to simulate the scene,” the officer testified. “I was pretty much on the fog line throughout the ride.”
During cross-examination, Buddemeyer’s counsel Brian De Lima, asked Keliipaakaua about the reconstruction of the accident.
“Would you concede you didn’t wear the same clothing as Mr. Surnow during the recreation?” he asked.
The officer conceded.
De Lima also asked how soon the reconstruction was conducted after the accident.
“I don’t recall how long ago after the accident, but it was after,” Keliipaakaua said.
The officer also confirmed the bike light that was affixed to Surnow’s bicycle was dead. To use it in the recreation, Keliipaakaua said, its batteries were replaced.
The officer also testified that when he got on scene the day of the accident there was still multiple pieces of the bike and vehicle on the roadway.
Keliipaakaua also testified there were no reflectors on the pedals of the bicycle.
The trial will continue Tuesday.
Perhaps Keliipaakaua could recall more specifics if it had not been 44 MONTHS since the incident. By contrast, HPD hunted down and terminated Justin Waiki in under 4 days.
Is that a picture of the dreaded assualt bicycle the cop had to fend off?
Brian Delima victim blaming by asking what clothes were wore. Sick.
Actually, rider visibility seems to me to be a hugely significant point. The accident happened around sunrise. There are trees along that stretch of road that cast many shadows, making visibility at that time of day even dodgier. It is vital that any accident recreation get right the type of clothing and reflector/light locations on rider and bike. Otherwise, how can anyone determine whether or not the officer SHOULD have seen the rider, and was thus negligent or not? Of course, the officer’s behavior after the accident is another matter altogether.
Understood. But if conditions make it difficult to see, be it fog, sun, rain, etc it is the responsibility of any driver to adjust their speed for the conditions. As the operator of any vehicle, you are responsible for operating it in a safe manner.
Agreed, but have you never been driving at night and passed someone on the shoulder of the road, not visible until the last second due in part to dark clothing or lack of a flashlight? Let’s face it, we all drive faster than what would allow us to see such unexpected “hazards” in time to effectively avoid disaster were something to take a bad turn.