CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
HPD officer William Malina greeted well-wishers yesterday after ceremonies at Mission Memorial Auditorium. Malina was awarded the department's third- highest award, the Warrior Bronze Medal of Valor, for disarming a knife-wielding man threatening people at a Kipapa park.
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Officers honored for heroism
On Independence Day 2004, off-duty Honolulu police officers William Malina and Lucius Crabbe used softball bats to stop a man from lunging at people with two kitchen knives at a Mililani park.
AWARD WINNERS
The Honolulu Police Department honored several people for service in the community yesterday.
» Warrior Bronze Medal of Valor: Officer William Malina
» Employee of the Quarter: Officer Benjamin Perez Jr.
» Unit of the Quarter: Lt. Andrew Lum, Sgt. Tenari Maafala, and officers Louise Akina and Harold Quinata
» Certificate of Merit: Officer Lucius Crabbe, Joseph Auld, Kyle Rodrigues, Paul Onaka, Officer Brandon Ogata, Justin Handa, Darryn Pait, James Yatsushiro, Darrel Aki and Michael McKeague
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Four years later, Malina and Crabbe were recognized for their work yesterday, but Malina admitted having "conflicting emotions" about that day.
Malina was awarded the Warrior Bronze Medal of Valor, the third-highest accolade from the Honolulu Police Department. Crabbe received a Certificate of Merit.
The knife-wielding man, 24-year-old Kevin Silva, died later in police custody.
"I'm sure he was a good person," Malina said, "but at that time he was not in his right state of mind."
Malina said he is proud, however, that he, Crabbe and other bystanders were able to prevent others from being hurt. Yesterday he thanked those who helped detain the suspect.
"They made it a whole lot easier for me to do what I did," Malina said. "To be honest, I don't know how the outcome could've been without their support."
On July 4, 2004, at Kipapa Neighborhood Park, Malina was attending his daughter's softball game when he heard his name being called.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Justin Handa joined his family after yesterday's Honolulu Police Department ceremonies at Mission Memorial Auditorium, where he was awarded a Certificate of Merit for detaining a purse snatcher. With Handa were wife Stephanie and sons Ryan, left, and Kalaokahikina.
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He saw Silva lunging at people with knives. Because he was off duty at the time, Malina's weapon was not handy.
"The best thing I could do was retrieve my daughter's softball bats," Malina said as he ran with Crabbe, who was also off duty. "I quickly gave him one bat so he could act as my backup," he said.
The pair used the bats to disarm and detain Silva until uniformed officers arrived. The uniformed officers cuffed Silva and placed him in leg irons for a ride to the Wahiawa Police Station, where he lost consciousness and died.
The medical examiner ruled that Silva died of a "cocaine-induced excited delirium."
"I have conflicting emotions because human life was taken," Malina said. "He's someone's son at the very least."
