The Kona Crime Prevention Committee honored Officer Reuben Pukahi as its Officer of the Month for November during a luncheon ceremony Wednesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona. ADVERTISING The Kona Crime Prevention Committee honored Officer Reuben Pukahi as its Officer
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee honored Officer Reuben Pukahi as its Officer of the Month for November during a luncheon ceremony Wednesday at Huggo’s restaurant in Kailua-Kona.
Pukahi was honored for his role in rescuing a man who tried to kill himself.
On June 10, police were looking for a man who threatened to harm himself. Officer Pukahi knew the man and offered to help the officers who were assigned to the case. They went to the man’s house and found him not breathing along with clear evidence that he had attempted suicide.
Officer Pukahi pulled the man to safety and began to administer chest compressions in rotation with other officers. By the time Fire Department rescue personnel arrived, the man had a strong heartbeat and was breathing.
When police checked on him a few days later, he was in stable condition, awake and talking.
Sgt. David Araki said it is because of Pukahi’s efforts the man is alive today.
“It is not too common that a person is actually able to look at what he has done and say that he made a difference in someone’s life,” Araki wrote in nomination papers.
Araki called Pukahi’s actions “a shining example why people become police officers.”
As Officer of the Month, Pukahi is eligible to become Officer of the Year.
The Kona Crime Prevention Committee is an organization that encourages community involvement in aiding and supporting police in West Hawaii.
