Police release body cam footage from Ocean View officer-involved shooting
Viewer discretion advised; footage from an incident Wednesday afternoon in which an officer shot and killed 31-year-old Nafetelai Teisina of Ocean View following an alleged theft incident in the parking lot of an Ocean View shopping center.
Hawai‘i Police Department on Friday afternoon released the footage from the body camera worn by the officer involved in an officer-involved shooting earlier this week in Ocean View that resulted in the death of the alleged suspect in a theft at an Ocean View shopping mall.
Viewer discretion is advised.
Police on Thursday identified the man killed as 31-year-old Nafetelai Teisina of Ocean View. He was shot by an officer assigned to the Ka‘ū Patrol division and who has been with the department less than a year. The officer had only 2 months in the field, with 10 months in training.
He was not identified.
Teisina was identified as the alleged suspect in a theft incident shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Ocean View shopping center’s parking lot, located in the 92-8700 block of Māmalahoa Highway, after which he fled on foot and was eventually shot and killed in a nearby area of dense brush.
He was flagged down by a woman who reported a theft, which reportedly involved a pair of glasses or sunglasses.
The responding officer first attempted to contact Teisina, who then ran south on Prince Kūhiō Boulevard.
“Teisina fled into an area of brush in an open lava field that is uneven and hard to navigate,” said Hawai‘i Police Department Chief Reed Mahuna during a press conference Thursday. “This is a very remote area with ʻaʻā lava rock.”
A second Ka‘ū Patrol officer arrived to assist in the search for Teisina, and the two entered the dense brush where Teisina entered but became separated during the search.
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 did not immediately know why the taser was ineffective.
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 was scheduled today.
The officer who shot Teisina was placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice, to ensure he is mentally, emotionally and physically able to return to work.
Mahuna said Teisina’s family was notified.
