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By John Wollstein, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Police officers carry the man out of a Jeep Grand
Cherokee after he was shot by an HPD officer
on Tusitala Street this morning.

Man shot by
police in Waikiki

An unidentified man rams an officer's
three-wheeled vehicle with a Jeep Grand
Cherokee on Tusitala Street

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The shooting took place after the
patrol officer tried to stop the vehicle
for a traffic violation, police say

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By Jaymes K. Song
Star-Bulletin

A Honolulu police officer shot and critically wounded a man in Waikiki this morning after the man rammed the officer's three-wheeled vehicle with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, police and witnesses said.

"The cop told him, 'You better stop or I'll shoot,'" said Dave Fetters, a maintenance worker at a nearby building who said he was about 20 feet away from the shooting.

Fetters says the patrolman boxed in the suspect's white Jeep between his three-wheeled Go-4 vehicle and a metal fence in the driveway of the Ala Wai Townhouse on Tusitala Street at about 7:15 a.m.

The suspect drove into the officer's Go-4 and the fence several times in an attempt to get away, Fetters said.

When the suspect drove toward the officer, the patrolman fired once at the driver, "and he didn't move after that," Fetters said.

The Jeep came to rest after striking a stone wall on the makai side of the street fronting the Waikiki Townhouse.

By John Wollstein, Special to the Star-Bulletin
A police officer approaches a Jeep Grand Cherokee
after he shot the driver of the vehicle on
Tusitala Street this morning.

"My heart was going," Fetters said. "And the whole thing was over just like that."

The patrol officer was trying to stop the Cherokee for a traffic violation, according to police Lt. William Kato, who added that the Jeep's license plate was for a different vehicle.

The driver rammed the Go-4 three times after the officer pulled behind him, Kato said. The officer drew his handgun, ordered the man to stop and fired a single shot when the driver turned the vehicle toward the officer, Kato added. "The policeman was yelling at him," said John Wollstein, who was alerted because of the crashing noises.

From Wollstein's perspective from his 19th-floor apartment, the driver was shot as he was trying to flee, not while trying to run over the officer.

Another eyewitness, who asked not be identified, told police the patrolman had to shoot to avoid being run over. The patrolman discharged his handgun as he jumped out of the way.

Witnesses say they saw a white Jeep Grand Cherokee speeding mauka-bound on Kaiulani Avenue shortly before the shooting with police in pursuit.

"He was flying down the street," said Waikiki resident Mike Emperado. "Then we heard all the cops chasing him."

Dozens of police investigators from homicide, traffic and internal affairs were examining the scene this morning.

The officer involved is 29 years old and has five years' experience on the force, police said.

The man who was shot has not been identified. He was taken to the Queen's Medical Center.