HONOLULU — For a second time in less than two weeks, Honolulu police have shot and killed someone.
A man who walked into a Honolulu home punched officers who responded to the burglary call Wednesday night and later died at a hospital after an officer fired at him, Chief Susan Ballard said.
The man, who is about 29 years old, arrived at the home in a car, walked inside, sat down and took off his shoes — frightening the occupants, Ballard said.
When the first officer arrived, the man had returned to his car and walked toward a second officer. The first officer ordered the man to stop and get on the ground, Ballard said, but the man instead punched the first officer several times.
A third officer then arrived and tried to deploy a stun gun, which Ballard said was ineffective. The man charged at the third officer and punched him, she said.
The man then began running and charging at the first officer, who fired one round. “But the suspect continued and tackled Officer One, straddled him and began punching Officer One again,” Ballard said.
The second officer fired three rounds, and the man fell to the ground, Ballard said. “This all happened in less than one minute from Officer One’s arrival,” she said.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The three officers were taken to a hospital. The first officer remained hospitalized Thursday with multiple facial fractures, a concussion and injuries to his limbs, Ballard said. The two officers were released and suffered various injuries, she said.
Police will review footage from cameras the officers wore.
The man doesn’t appear to have a criminal record and appeared to be Black, Ballard said. The medical examiner’s office had not yet released his name.
When asked how she would address the shooting with the community given protests on the U.S. mainland over police brutality, Ballard said race wasn’t a factor.
“I think what we need to remember, this had nothing to do with race,” she said. “It had to do with behavior. … This person seriously injured the officers, and their lives were in jeopardy.”
This was the second time this year that police shot and killed someone. Last week, police shot and killed a 16-year-old boy during a car chase. Iremamber Sykap was driving a stolen car that was linked to a burglary, purse snatching, car theft and an armed robbery, Ballard said.
She didn’t offer any new details Thursday, saying the shooting is under investigation and that police are reviewing footage from more than 50 officer body cameras. She said Sykap’s age will limit what police will be able to release.
After a critical performance evaluation from the city’s police commission last week, Ballard said she will resign and retire effective June 1.
