DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Police chaplain Alex Vergara stood outside the Baskin-Robbins store today where a fellow HPD officer was shot and killed yesterday afternoon.
Cop killed Flowers were placed in front of the Kapolei ice cream shop this morning where Honolulu police officer Glen Gaspar was shot and killed while trying to subdue an attempted murder suspect.
in Kapolei
The man accused of shooting
Officer recalled as good dad
Glen Gaspar is a career criminal
who previously assaulted a copStar-Bulletin staff
There was a flier on one of the bouquets with an HPD emblem and a note that read, "our fallen hero."
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Kapolei shooting
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A black band across the emblem read, "in memory."
Gaspar, a 12-year veteran on special assignment with Honolulu police's elite Career Criminal Unit, was shot multiple times in the torso at the Kapolei Shopping Center about 1 p.m. yesterday, police said. He was pronounced dead at St. Francis-West Medical Center at 2 p.m.
"Honolulu has lost another hero in the line of duty," Police Chief Lee Donohue said.
Gaspar, who had two daughters, became the 37th HPD officer in the past 100 years killed in the line of duty, said Donohue.
"It's a great record, but it's 37 too many," he said.
Larry Kee, owner of the Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream shop where Gaspar was killed said the store would hold a memorial service at 2 p.m. today to honor the officer. He said it was "our way of paying respect."
Lt. Frank Pugliese, watch commander at the Kapolei police station said he would attend the service along with district police chaplain Alex Vergara, who planned to say a few words.
The 28-year-old suspect, Shane Mark, was arrested and taken to St. Francis-West where he was listed in serious condition this morning, according to a spokeswoman.
It was unclear this morning what was medically wrong with the suspect. The police officers who brought him into the Kapolei station for booking, decided to bring him in a squad car to the hospital before he could be booked.
Lt. Walter Ozeki said Mark was "basically non-responsive. He wouldn't stand up on his own. He wouldn't answer questions."
Asked if Mark was faking a medical condition, Ozeki said "I don't know for sure. We're not doctors so we took him to the hospital."
Mark has 14 convictions, ranging from auto theft to assaulting a police officer, and was wanted for allegedly shooting at two men, hitting one in the leg, during an argument over the sale of a video camera on Feb. 1.
According to Donohue, plainclothes officers received information that Mark was in the Kapolei area. Donohue said about six officers confronted him at the Baskin-Robbins and the suspect reached into his waistband for a handgun. Donohue said Mark and the officers were inside the store when the officers identified themselves.
During a struggle, the suspect fired multiple shots and Gaspar was hit, Donohue said.
Bing Estacio, who works in the Gold Mart jewelry store next to Baskin-Robbins, said she was assisting a customer when she saw "three guys with aloha shirts yelling and shouting" running toward the ice cream parlor.
Estacio said she closed the front door, ran to the store's office and hid. She said she heard at least two "pops" but did not realize at the time that they were gunshots.
Marty Meek, of Hawaiian Sign & Design, was on a ladder in front of the NAPA Auto Parts store repairing the store's sign when he said he looked to his right and saw two men in aloha print shirts in front of Baskin-Robbins with guns drawn. One man was just outside the store's doorway and the other was behind a van in front of the store, Meek said.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
A firefighter applied chest compressions yesterday while others helped move the victim to an ambulance outside Baskin-Robbins.
He said he then heard four to five shots that sounded like firecrackers. A female shopping center security guard then yelled for anyone to call 911, he said.
"I got off the ladder and thought I better take cover or something," Meek said.
At a news conference last night, Donohue held up a stack of written commendations that Gaspar had received and praised him as a great officer, with a positive attitude toward his job. He was well liked and a good worker, Donohue said.
"He was so very proud of being a police officer," the chief said.
Donohue would not comment on whether Gaspar was wearing a protective vest but Emergency Medical Services district supervisor Chris Ano told the Star-Bulletin this morning, "no he wasn't wearing one."
Donohue said he and assistant chiefs spent time with Gaspar's parents, children and other family members.
Gaspar was divorced with two daughters, 11 and 13.
"Officer Gaspar's family is deeply grieved, as well as the HPD family," Donohue said. "It's just sad this happens."
Gaspar, a Kaneohe patrol officer, was on special assignment to the Criminal Investigation Division and served with the Career Criminal Unit from February 2000. The Career Criminal Unit concentrates on catching criminals who are committing multiple crimes. The unit was reactivated last year, in part because of the dramatic rise in auto thefts.
Court records show Mark, who formerly worked as a construction laborer, has been convicted 14 times from 1994 to 1997 -- four felonies and 10 misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors, including a misdemeanor conviction for assaulting a police officer. He received 15 days in jail and one year probation in that case.
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
People emerged visibly upset yesterday from the emergency room of St. Francis-West Medical Center. Glen Gaspar, a 12-year HPD veteran on special assignment with the elite Career Criminal Unit, was shot and killed while trying to help apprehend a wanted suspect at a Kapolei ice cream shop.
According to the Paroling Authority, Marks served a full five-year term that expired Nov. 10, 2002 for four separate convictions, including burglary and auto theft.
"The Department of Public Safety couldn't hold him anymore, we couldn't hold him anymore," said Tommy Johnson, Paroling Authority administrator.
The Paroling Authority had ordered Mark to serve a minimum of three years but he ended up serving the full five after being denied parole four times.
Johnson said Mark failed to complete programs recommended by the prison and had several instances of misconduct. "He hadn't complied at all," Johnson said.
Mark was required to complete programs in cognitive skills, anger management, substance abuse and was even recommended for work furlough. He was cited for misconduct ranging from possession of narcotics and refusing to obey staff orders.
A girlfriend, with whom he had a daughter named after him, sought a restraining order against him in January 1994. The order was valid for two years.
The woman noted in court documents that Mark physically abused her and threatened to hurt and kill her. The latest incident for which she was seeking the court order occurred on Jan. 9, 1994, when he used a rock to punch all her car windows out, according to the records. Within the last year, Mark had punched holes in her walls, damaged and destroyed her personal belongings, she said.
The woman noted that Mark may have owned knives or a gun and used illegal drugs. She was living at a transitional center with their daughter when she filed for the court order. Mark was ordered to attend an anger management program but he never complied, according to the records.
Police believe Mark had a drug problem, but Donohue said he does not know if he was under the influence at the time.
Donohue used the incident to emphasize how Honolulu is a "big city with big city problems."
"We have a horrendous drug problem," he said, and property crime has escalated. "The scary part is the drug methamphetamine and what it does to users."
Star-Bulletin reporters Leila Fujimori, Debra Barayuga, Nelson Daranciang, Sally Apgar and Craig Gima contributed to this report.
Honolulu Police Department
