Chief says police
shooting was justifiedMaui police look into giving officers
Taser guns after Sunday's fatal incident
WAILUKU >> A police officer was justified in fatally shooting a suspect who resisted arrest and sprayed pepper spray at the officer and a resident, Maui police Chief Thomas Phillips said yesterday.
But Phillips said his department is looking at equipping officers with Taser guns that subdue a suspect with a nonfatal electrical charge.
Phillips said he does not know if using a Taser gun would have been successful in Sunday's fatal shooting.
"We can only speculate," he said.
A Maui officer, who has not been named, fatally shot 48-year-old Charles Benson Ogden on Sunday evening on the beach about 150 yards south of Lipoa Street.
Detectives said they have been unable to find a local address for Ogden and believe he was living out of his backpack. He formerly lived in Oklahoma.
Police said a preliminary check showed Ogden was wanted on a warrant for a weapon violation, possibly explaining why he initially fled from the police officer.
Witnesses told police that at one point, Ogden reached into his backpack but stopped after being warned by the police officer.
A pair of scissors and a fish knife with a 6-inch blade were later found in the backpack.
The death of Ogden was the second fatal shooting by Maui police this year. Officers in Paia on Jan. 23 fatally shot Lisa Kaina, who allegedly refused to stop driving a stolen Cadillac and nearly hit a number of people.
Phillips, who held a news conference yesterday, said the officer responding to a report of indecent exposure on the Kihei beach intended only to speak with Ogden, but the situation escalated into violence.
The police chief said that at the time of the shooting, the officer could see only a silhouette of Ogden because of the strong pepper spray in his eyes.
Phillips said the officer was protecting a male resident who had assisted police in the chase and also been hit with the spray, which was sold as a bear repellent.
"We believe the officer and the citizen were in danger. ... The officer was actually pretty much debilitated with the spray and in a fairly vulnerable position," Phillips said.
Phillips said police received a call at 6 p.m. about a male sitting by a beach access near Waiohuli Stream with his pants pulled halfway down, exposing himself to children.
He said the officer arrived at 6:06 p.m., and a woman who made the call pointed out Ogden, who was walking quickly northward.
Phillips said police pursued Ogden and that a male resident assisted in the chase.
Lt. Glenn Cuomo said the citizen, who was behind Ogden, yelled, "Stop, why don't you stop for the police?" and according to witnesses, Ogden reached into his backpack with his left hand, pulled out the spray and sprayed the man.
"However, the civilian didn't take the full hit the way our officer did," Cuomo said.
Police said the officer initially tried to subdue the man with a pepper spray capable of shooting 10 feet, but Ogden's spray was more powerful and could spray 30 feet.
Ogden's spray also stuck to the body and burned the skin, police said.
Witnesses said the officer repeatedly ordered Ogden to lie down, but he kept moving forward.
The officer fired two to three times, striking Ogden once in the right forearm.
According to witnesses, Ogden was five to seven feet from the officer when the shots were fired, and he fell to the ground about 6:14 p.m.
The officer went to the ocean to rinse his eyes, but the salt water seemed to irritate them further, police said.
Noticing Ogden standing up, the officer ran to place himself between him and the resident.
According to Cuomo, Ogden said, "Oh, I don't believe you shot me," then continued to come forward.
According to witnesses and police, the officer repeatedly warned Ogden again to lie down, then fired three to four rounds, striking him three times.
Cuomo said he arrived several minutes after the shooting, and the officer's vision was "very much" impaired.
"The officer's face was very swollen. He seemed to me incapable of seeing much at all. ... He could see shadows."
The officer was treated at Maui Memorial Medical Center and released. As part of normal procedure, he has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation.
The officer, 31, has been with the Police Department for about 10 years.
Maui Medical Examiner Anthony Manoukian said preliminary autopsy results appear to support the police account.
Manoukian said the autopsy showed Ogden extended his arms, apparently to keep himself a maximum distance from the spray.
Three bullets entered his body, with the fatal one cutting his spine, entering his left lung and lodging itself in his left armpit, Manoukian said.
Manoukian said a preliminary test showed traces of marijuana in Ogden's system.