The Maui Police Department released bodycam footage of the shooting of Officer Suzanne O, 37, last Friday near the Paia Sugar Mill. Officer O was hit just above her protective vest while responding with five other officers to a report of trespassing and gunfire, according to Hawaii News Now. The suspect, Clembert Alii Kaneholani, 38, fired from behind a concrete pillar. Officer Mousa Kawas returned fire, and Kaneholani was taken into custody, as per Civil Beat.
Chief John Pelletier said that police officers often face fast-moving dangerous situations. "A police officer’s response is dictated by the suspect’s action. The suspect put officers into a deadly force situation with no choice but to act," he said. The suspect, Kaneholani, a convicted felon, had an illegally possessed ghost gun, a polymer Glock with an extended magazine. Kaneholani had also recently been served with a temporary restraining order after an alleged domestic violence incident. Pelletier said, "If you’re an ex-felon, you should not have access to firearms," and called for mandatory prison time for ex-felons found with guns, as reported by Hawaii News Now.
Officer O’s death is the first fatal shooting of a Maui police officer since the 1950s. Chaplains and psychologists are available to support department members. Chief Pelletier said, "She was the finest of us" and "She was an absolute rising star in this department and this community," noting her Certificate of Merit for her work during the August 8, 2023 wildfires, as mentioned by Civil Beat. Donations to support her family can be made to the SHOPO Benevolent Fund, and a candlelight memorial is planned.
