3 officers may be
charged in shootingRonald Lowery died after officers
fired an estimated 30 rounds
Three Honolulu police officers face possible criminal charges stemming from the fatal shooting of a 34-year-old Waipahu man on a Waianae street Nov. 1.
"Honolulu Police Department's Internal Affairs is wrapping up its investigation and will be turning over the case to the city Prosecutor's Office soon," said HPD spokes-woman Michelle Yu yesterday.
She said she did not know what charges the officers may face.
Police said the officers fired an estimated 30 rounds at Ronald Lowery, 34, who was cornered by police on Old Government Road near Plantation Road and the 7-Eleven.
He died of injuries from multiple gunshot wounds.
Police said they began following Lowery after he was seen driving erratically in a stolen car.
He then abandoned the car and got into a van driven by a Waianae woman, who is his cousin's girlfriend. A 16-year-old girl who knew Lowery was also in the vehicle.
Police alleged that Lowery drove toward the officers.
One witness, however, said it appeared the van lunged forward after Lowery was shot.
Officers on the scene reported that Lowery pointed a sawed-off shotgun at them.
They took cover and heard a loud boom.
Then-homicide Lt. Bill Kato said some witnesses heard a loud boom followed by a series of pops.
Police returned fire with about 30 rounds. A police officer suffered minor injuries from flying glass when a window of his sport utility vehicle was shot out.
"I'm happy that this is being taken care of and action is being taken," said Lowery's wife, Charity, who was five months pregnant with their first child at the time of the shooting. "However, I don't know the full story."
Lowery said she had heard different versions of the shooting and she has hounded detectives for information, but received little.
"They (police) think they're right because my husband shot first," Charity Lowery said. "It's hard to believe. It's left a lot of confusion and it hasn't given me any closure.
"I have a 3-month-old daughter that's never going to see her father," she said.
Police Chief Lee Donohue said after the shooting that the officers, two in their 40s and one in his 20s, handled the situation in the way they were trained, namely to stop a threat to themselves and the community.
Witnesses said the van was not speeding when police stopped it, and it was police who endangered the community by confronting Lowery in front of their homes.
Lowery, who had 16 convictions, mostly misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor convictions, was found with crystal methamphetamine in his system, police said.