territory, to parents who were from Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia. Some in the Micronesian community say Sykap’s shooting highlights the racism they face in Hawaii. The case comes a year after nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality in other parts of the U.S. The medical examiner said toxicology results showed methamphetamine in Sykap’s blood. Honolulu’s chief medical examiner testified that Sykap was hit by eight shots, including one to the back of the head and a fatal wound in the upper back, which tore his aorta. The backpack contained an inoperable blank-firing revolver, which is similar to devices used as movie props or at track-and-field events. Police also testified that officers found a backpack several blocks away from the shooting which came from a suspect who fled the vehicle. But they did not find real firearms in the car. Police said they also found two magazines, one with real ammunition and one that was empty. Last month, a police evidence specialist testified that a pellet gun that looked like a firearm was found in the car Sykap was driving. It’s the first time in more than 40 years that a Honolulu police officer has been charged in a fatal shooting.ĭomingo has scheduled one more session for the hearing on Wednesday. Honolulu prosecutors filed charges against the three officers after a grand jury declined to indict them. “They were close enough to be in the zone of danger, that if that vehicle moved, it could have severely injured or killed them, yes?” asked Thomas Otake, Ah Nee’s lawyer. Brandon Nakasone of the Honolulu Police Department’s professional standards office said he agreed the officers didn’t need to be directly in front or behind the car to be at risk. Under questioning of Ah Nee’s attorney, Lt. Officers Zackary Ah Nee and Fredeluces, who also opened fire, are charged with second-degree attempted murder.Ī police lieutenant testified that Ah Nee and Fredeluces were in danger as they approached the car after the high-speed chase. Prosecutors said he fired 10 rounds at Sykap through the rear window of the car after it stopped at an intersection. Officer Geoffrey Thom is charged with murder. Police say the Honda was stolen and linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse-snatching and car theft. Fredeluces was driving one of the patrol cars that chased Sykap’s white Honda along Kalanianaole Highway, the H-1 freeway and city streets. The shooting came amid a national reckoning over police use of force.Defense attorney Crystal Glendon shared the information included in a report that her client Christopher Fredeluces submitted about the incident. The lawsuit argues that the officers violated department policy and use-of-force standards when they shot Sykap. Sykap’s family says the department falsely claimed the car rammed police vehicles and that officers fired in self-defense. Notes by medical professionals at the hospital and a diagram indicating where Sykap was shot showed the shooting was “clearly unnecessary,” Seitz said. The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said it won’t release Sykap’s autopsy report at the direction of the prosecuting attorney’s office, which is investigating. It says officers kept firing after the car lurched forward and ended up in a ditch. But newly released medical records show that Sykap was killed by. Police said Sykap was driving a stolen Honda linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse snatching and car theft and led officers on a chase before the April 5 shooting.Ī lawsuit by his grandmother and mother alleges officers fired multiple shots at Sykap after the vehicle came to a stop, when Sykap was unarmed and posed no risk to them. HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - HPD has maintained that the fatal police shooting of 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap in April was justified. Spokespersons for the Honolulu Police Department and the city didn’t immediately comment on the records involving Iremamber Sykap.Ī doctor wrote in emergency room notes that Sykap had a “gunshot wound to the back of his head, two gunshot wounds to his right shoulder, and 1 gunshot wound to his left shoulder,” “It’s evidence that the kid was shot in the back,” attorney Eric Seitz said Friday. HONOLULU (AP) - A 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Honolulu police arrived at an emergency room with gunshot wounds to the back of his head and to his shoulders, according to hospital records provided by a lawyer representing the teen’s family.
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