Officer Carr Honored for Work in Imprisonment, Sex Assault Investigation

Hawai‘i Police Department’s South Kohala Officer Kayli Carr was recognized for her work during an unlawful imprisonment/sex assault investigation that occurred in January 2022.

Carr was honored by the Hawai‘i Island Security and Safety Professionals Association as HISSPA Officer of the Quarter for Q1 2022 during a ceremony on Friday, June 10 at the Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona.

The investigation was initiated on Jan. 22 at 4:24 a.m. when Carr was assigned to respond to a 911 call in which a woman reported that she was in the bed of a white pickup truck and had been “choked out.” The woman was crying and could not provide any further information, HPD related in a news release Wednesday.

Police dispatchers were able to obtain the cellphone’s GPS coordinates, relaying to responding officers that the phone was on Waikōloa Road near mile marker 2. At the time, Carr was traveling south on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway approaching the Waikōloa Road intersection when she saw a white, lifted Ford F250 pickup truck turning right onto Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway at a high rate of speed.

Carr also saw a dark colored truck turning right onto the highway.

Turning her vehicle around in an attempt to contact the driver of the white truck, Officer Carr was flagged down by the driver of the dark-colored truck who told her that the white truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on Waikōloa Road and would slam its brakes for no apparent reason. After obtaining the driver’s name and contact information, Officer Carr continued on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway looking for the white truck but was unable to locate it.

Returning to Waikōloa Road, Carr saw a woman standing on the shoulder of the road in the vicinity of mile marker 1.

“As Officer Carr approached the woman, she observed that the female victim was injured and emotionally distressed,” HPD stated. “After requesting medical assistance from Hawai‘i Fire Department, Officer Carr was able to comfort and calm the victim.”

As Carr talked with the woman to get a statement, the victim repeatedly said she did not trust police officers and would shut down and stop talking.

“Demonstrating compassion and keen communication skills, Officer Carr was able to empathize with the victim and build trust with her, which led to Officer Carr learning crucial details that aided in the investigation,” officials stated.

Carr learned that the suspect had befriended the victim a few weeks prior and that the victim had been staying with the suspect for the previous week. Carr also developed information about a sexual assault perpetrated by the suspect two days prior. Through this victim statement, Carr obtained the identity of the suspect and knowing that time was of the essence, relayed this information to other responding officers in an attempt to locate the suspect.

Carr was able to provide valuable information to the Area II Juvenile Aid Section detectives, which aided them with completing this investigation. Within five hours of the initial incident, the suspect was identified, contacted, and arrested for abuse of a household or family member, kidnapping, and sexual second-degree assault.

Upon Area II Juvenile Aid Section detectives completing their investigation, the following charges were sent to the County Prosecutor’s Office for their review:

• Abuse of household or family member
• First-degree unlawful imprisonment in the first degree
• Three counts of second-degree sexual assault 
• Third-degree assault
• Second-degree terroristic threatening

“It’s my firm belief that had Officer Carr not been able to gain the trust and confidence of the victim, listen to the victim, and process all the information provided, this case would not have been solved,” said Sgt. Erich Jackson, Officer Carr’s supervisor who nominated her for the award. “Officer Carr’s diligence, tenacity, perseverance, and listening skills conducted an outstanding investigation resulting in the successful apprehension of the suspect.”