Officer shoots
Ewa Beach manWitnesses say that the man
kept one hand hidden behind him
A 24-year-old Ewa Beach man was in serious condition at the Queen's Medical Center yesterday after he was shot in the leg by a police officer Friday night in the parking lot of the Palm Court apartment complex.
A witness said the man appeared to be hiding something behind his back as he approached the officer, who had his gun drawn.
The officer who shot the man was placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure after a police shooting. Homicide and Internal Affairs detectives are investigating the incident, which occurred at about 9:12 p.m.
Police arrested the man after the shooting for first- and second-degree terroristic threatening.
Police said the man's mother called police after an argument in their apartment in the complex.
A neighbor, who would not give his name, said he saw the man pacing back and forth in the parking lot outside of his home around 9 p.m.
"He looked like, to me, that he was just trying to cool off," said the neighbor.
The witness said when the man saw the officer, he became agitated, and it looked like he threw something at the officer's car.
"The officer came out of the car with a gun drawn and yelled, 'Let me see your hands!' 10 or 15 times," the neighbor said. "He never like bring his hand up. He only showed one of his hands with the other behind his back."
The witness said he did not see if the man was carrying a weapon.
Police couldn't confirm yesterday if they recovered a weapon or if the man was holding anything.
The neighbor said the man was talking to the officer, but couldn't hear what was said.
Police said the man threatened to kill the officer.
The officer yelled "Back up" five or seven times, the neighbor said. When the man didn't comply, the officer fired one shot into his thigh.
"He went down quietly. He didn't even yell in pain," the neighbor said. "The officer shot him for his own personal safety 'cause he wouldn't show his hands. But I never thought he was going to pop the guy."
"I heard a bang and I thought it was kids playing with cherry bomb or firecrackers," said 21-year-old Davi Godinet, another neighbor.
"We were kind of scared," said Carl Ishigaki, 34. "This is a quiet neighborhood and shootings don't happen here."
"It's out of character for him," said neighbor Dwight Cadiente about the man who was shot. "He is a friendly and quiet guy who kept to himself."