Police ID Man Killed in Second Officer-Involved Shooting

Authorities have identified a man killed during an officer-involved shooting on June 18 as 31-year-old Daniel Buckingham.

According to Hawai‘i Police, Buckingham had been living on the island for about 1.5 years, however, he had no known permanent address. He is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan. On Tuesday, June 22, an autopsy performed on Buckingham showed he died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body. The final autopsy report is pending toxicology results.

According to court records, Buckingham was on supervised release at the time of the break-in. He was facing charges of first-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft after stealing another person’s food and shoes on June 15. He appeared in court on June 16 before Judge M. Kanani Laubach who granted supervised release over the state’s objection. Buckingham was scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on the case on June 30.

Buckingham is the second person to be shot and killed by police within a week. On June 13, officers shot and killed 34-year-old Ryan Yukiharu Santos after he opened fire on law enforcement from a Hilo apartment.

Police encountered Buckingham on Friday, June 18, after responding to a residential alarm on the 1800 block of Kīlauea Avenue at approximately 11:40 a.m. When they arrived at the home, officers discovered a broken rear window to the residence.

“Upon speaking with neighbors, officers learned that the residence was not currently being lived in full-time and no one should be there,” authorities stated in a press release Tuesday, June 22.

The patrolmen entered the home to investigate the apparent break-in and announced their presence several times.

“As officers were clearing the residence they encountered a locked bedroom door,” the release states. “Officers then exited the residence and made additional checks around the perimeter of the property.”

Officers got into the locked bedroom at approximately 12:02 p.m. Immediately upon entering the locked bedroom, officers were confronted by a male suspect, later identified as Buckingham, who was reportedly armed with a pocket knife and a machete.

“The suspect swung the large knife and struck an officer in the forearm,” police say. “Two of the responding officers discharged their duty weapons, killing the armed suspect.”

The injured officer was taken to Hilo Medical Center in stable condition. He was treated for a large cut to his arm and later released.

The injured officer was equipped with a body-worn camera, however, it was not recording at the time of the incident. Two additional officers at the scene were also equipped with body-worn cameras; those cameras were activated and captured the incident. Footage capturing the incident was released over the weekend.

Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section are continuing this attempted first-degree murder investigation. The Office of Professional Standards is continuing the internal investigation into this matter.

Police ask anyone with information regarding this incident to call Detective Jeremy Kubojiri of the Area I Criminal Investigations Section at 808-961-2378 or send an email to Jeremy.Kubojiri@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the island-wide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.