31-year-old killed by police officer in dense brush following foot chase in Ocean View
A 31-year-old man from Ocean View is dead after being shot by a Hawaiʻi Island police officer on Wednesday afternoon following an incident that began in a commercial parking lot in the 92-8700 block of Māmalahoa Highway in Ocean View and ended in nearby dense brush.
Police identified the deceased man as Nafetelai Teisina.
The investigation into this incident remains active and ongoing. The Hawai‘i Police Department Office of Professional Standards also initiated a critical incident review, which is standard practice in officer-involved shootings.
The officer who shot Teisina is assigned to the Ka‘ū Patrol division and had been with the department less than a year. He had only two months in the field, with 10 of the months in training. The officer was not identified.
He was placed on administrative leave to ensure he is mentally, emotionally and physically able to return to work.
Teisina’s family has been notified, Hawaiʻi County Police Chief Reed Mahuna said.
The Ka‘ū Patrol officer was responding shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday in his subsidized police vehicle to the shopping center parking lot when he was flagged down by a woman who reported a theft. The woman pointed to the man who took her glasses in the parking lot of a market, restaurant and gas station. He was later identified as Teisina.
In a press conference on Thursday, Mahuna reported that the theft involved a pair of glasses or sunglasses.
The officer attempted to contact Teisina, who ran to the south on Prince Kūhiō Boulevard.
“Teisina fled into an area of brush in an open lava field that is uneven and hard to navigate,” Mahuna said during a press conference. “This is a very remote area with aʻa lava rock.”
The following is the police account:
A second Ka‘ū Patrol officer arrived to assist in the search for Teisina, and the two officers entered the dense brush where Teisina had entered but they became separated during the search.
One officer subsequently reported to police dispatch that he heard shots fired. Making his way in the direction from which he heard the shots, the officer discovered the second officer with a bleeding arm and Teisina on the ground unresponsive.
Police investigation discovered that Teisina threw rocks at the second officer, who issued loud, verbal commands and deployed his taser multiple times, ineffectively, before firing his service weapon.
Mahuna said he did not immediately know why the taser was ineffective on Teisina.
After the officer discharged his gun, Teisina continued to try to throw rocks at the officer, who was subsequently able to apprehend him and begin lifesaving measures until Hawai‘i Fire Department medics arrived.
Teisina was pronounced dead shortly before 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled Oct 9.
“In this case, the fact that there was no ability to retreat and the nature of the attack could cause death, it does not appear that there was an alternative after the taser was ineffective,” Mahuna said. “An injury from one of the rocks would be enough to keep the officer off duty.”
During the press conference, Mahuna said that the Hawaiʻi Police Department would release the body camera footage in the next 24 hours for full transparency.
The injured officer was transported to Ka‘ū Community Hospital for treatment and later released.
No other officers or members of the public were injured.
Anyone who might have witnessed or who has any information about this incident is asked to call Hawai‘i Police Department’s non-emergency line at 808-935-3311.
