Former isle
officer killed
with own gunThe policeman is shot near Tacoma
during a scuffle with a suspect
A former Honolulu police officer was fatally shot yesterday morning while working as a police officer in Federal Way, Wash.
Officer Patrick Maher, 46, was chasing a man who grabbed the officer's gun and shot him with it.
Maher died yesterday afternoon at Harborview Medical Center, where he was taken for treatment after the shooting.
Maher joined the Federal Way police department about seven months ago after moving to Washington state from Hawaii, Federal Way police said. Federal Way is northeast of Tacoma.
Maher previously had worked for seven years for the Honolulu Police Department and served 20 years in the Coast Guard, retiring as a senior special agent in investigation.
Officer Paul Petersen of Kent police said Maher arrived at an AM/PM market on the north boundary of Federal Way and saw three people fighting -- a 28-year-old man, his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend and his 24-year-old brother.
The 28-year-old man turned and ran across 272nd Street into the city of Kent, past a small strip mall and tried to climb over the fence, Petersen said, while Maher and others chased him.
"The officer followed by the other two caught up with the guy, pulled him off the chain link fence and a scuffle began," Petersen said.
"Somehow the suspect got the officer's weapon," he said, and used it to threaten his brother and ex-girlfriend.
"In an apparent attempt to disarm the suspect, the officer lunged in and was shot in the abdomen below the edge of his vest," Petersen said.
The man's brother then jumped onto the man's back and held him until the next police officer arrived, he said.
Medics treated Maher at the scene and he was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he underwent two surgeries and died, Petersen said.
Kent police jailed the 28-year-old man for investigation of murder.
HPD Officer Chris Bugarin said he worked with Maher at the Waikiki Police Station for almost three years and learned a lot from him.
"He was cool. He would definitely help you out," Bugarin said.
Under Maher's urging, Bugarin said he began making more DUI stops despite the paperwork they involve. As a result, he said, "I got some bad people off the road."
When Bugarin heard yesterday that Maher was shot while trying to break up fight, it didn't surprise him. "That's how he is," he said of the officer who taught him: "You don't think about what could happen to you. You try to think about what could happen to somebody else."
HPD Officer Bill McCoy said he was shocked to learn of Maher's death.
"Pat was a really great guy," McCoy said.
"He was senior to me when I first came out," McCoy said. "As a rookie, he would often get on me for doing the wrong thing, and he would take care of me and show me how to do the right thing."
Bugarin said Maher had married within the past year, before leaving Hawaii for Washington.
Honolulu police are still mourning the loss of solo bike officer Ryan Goto, who was killed last week in a chain-reaction accident near Honokai Hale.
Star-Bulletin reporter Diana Leone contributed to this story.
