KEALAKEKUA — Trial is set for early 2017 for a former Hawaii Police Department officer alleged to have fatally struck a bicyclist in March 2015.
KEALAKEKUA — Trial is set for early 2017 for a former Hawaii Police Department officer alleged to have fatally struck a bicyclist in March 2015.
Pahoa resident Jody Buddemeyer, 32, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of first-degree negligent homicide, tampering with physical evidence and making a false report to law enforcement in connection with the March 1, 2015, crash that killed Jeffrey Surnow, a 69-year-old visitor from Michigan.
Circuit Court Judge Melvin Fujino set trial for Jan. 24, 2017, for the former South Kohala patrolman, who was indicted on the charges by a Kona grand jury earlier this month. He remains free on $10,000 bail.
Police say Buddemeyer was driving eastbound in a subsidized patrol car while he was on duty when his vehicle struck and killed Surnow, of West Bloomfield Hills, Mich., as he rode his bicycle east up Waikoloa Road. The collision, which Buddemeyer reported at 6:25 a.m., occurred near mile marker 11.
First responders initially reported the incident as a hit-and-run after Surnow was found lying face down near a “severely damaged” bicycle on the shoulder of the road. They noted he died prior to their arrival. Buddemeyer was subsequently arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and released pending further investigation.
Buddemeyer was placed on administrative leave pending investigation. A police misconduct report presented to the Hawaii County Police Commission in February, which does not include names because of state law, said an officer was terminated in 2015 for tampering with the scene after being involved in a traffic fatality. Buddemeyer is no longer on the department’s sworn personnel list.
Email Chelsea Jensen at cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com.