Police say an officer shot and killed a man Thursday afternoon in Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision.
According to a statement by police, officers responded to a 1:20 p.m. call reporting a man possibly armed with a weapon by combing the Puna subdivision.
Police say they found the man on Beach Road off Kaloli Drive sitting in a pickup truck.
Two officers approached the vehicle, approached the man and a struggle ensued, police said. Police say the man pointed a handgun at one of the officers and the officer fired his duty weapon in response,killing the alleged gunman.
Police are withholding the man’s name pending positive identification and notification of his family.
An autopsy will be ordered.
According to police, the officer who fired his weapon is a nine-year veteran of the Hawaii Police Department for nine years. The other officer, who has five years’ experience, was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
No officers were injured by gunfire.
This is the fourth fatal police-involved shooting this year.
Kalyp Allen Rapoza, 25, of Hilo, was shot June 6 by an officer at a home on East Kawailani Street in Hilo. Police say Rapoza chased Fire Department ambulance personnel back into their vehicle workers with a dog and a knife. An officer was dispatched to the scene, was also confronted, according to police, and shot both Rapoza and the pit bull.
On Feb. 9, Scottie Yanagawa, a 29-year-old prison furlough escapee wanted by police was shot to death after an armed confrontation in the Hilo Wal-Mart parking lot, police said.
And on Feb. 5, Ronald Barawis, a 38-year-old parolee from Kailua-Kona, was shot and killed by officers in the drive-thru of the McDonald’s at Puainako Town Center in Hilo. Police say Barawis, who was wanted for parole violation and contempt of court, was heavily armed and drove at officers, who fired in response.
A woman who was in the car with Barawis was critically injured by gunfire.
The officer in Thursday’s shooting will be subject to two police investigations, which is standard practice in any police-involved shooting. One is a criminal investigation by the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section. The other is an administrative investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, the department’s internal affairs unit.
Anyone who witnessed Thursday’s shooting is asked to to contact Detective Tuckloy Aurello at 961-2385 or Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
