Examiner disputes
shooting accountsA Maui investigation contradicts
witnesses’ claims that police did not
need to open fire
WAILUKU >> A woman fatally shot by Maui police last month did not raise her hands to surrender in an allegedly stolen Cadillac, according to evidence gathered by Maui Medical Examiner Dr. Anthony Manoukian.
Manoukian said yesterday he arrived at the conclusion based on injuries 27-year-old Lisa Kaina sustained from glass that shattered when police fired through the driver's side window.
"From what I saw, it looked like her hand was extended to either the steering wheel or gear shift lever," Manoukian said.
His conclusion contradicts the account by Kaina's brother Andy Tomita, who said eyewitnesses told him she had her arms in the air.
Some witnesses have criticized the Maui police for fatally shooting Kaina, the mother of three children.
Manoukian also said final toxicology tests showed Kaina had taken crystal methamphetamine a couple of hours before the fatal shooting. He said the tests were unable to determine the level of impairment she might have experienced on the drug.
Kaina was on probation for a conviction last year of vehicular theft and possession of crystal methamphetamine when she allegedly stole the Cadillac from Hertz Rent A Car near the Kahului Airport about 3:44 p.m. Jan. 23.
Police said she nearly struck a Hertz employee leaving the lot and drove in the Haiku direction on the wrong side of Hana Highway as she approached Paia town.
After turning right up Baldwin Avenue, she tried to do a U-turn as a police car came down the road in the opposite direction, police said.
The Cadillac struck a tree near the Bank of Hawaii, then reversed several times, striking a red Jeep and a police car, police said.
At one point, the Cadillac reversed itself toward a police officer, police said.
Two police officers on the driver's side of the vehicle each fired once, and one of the bullets struck Kaina in the head, killing her, authorities said.
Maui police Lt. Glenn Cuomo said yesterday the investigation into the shooting is continuing, and police still have to determine which officer's weapon killed Kaina.