HPD Chief: Police Shot At Man Who Tried To Run Over Officer
Update: A 23-year-0ld man has been arrested in connection with the incident.
A Honolulu police officer shot at a man Wednesday who tried to run him over, shattering the driver-side window in a Pearl City neighborhood.
It was the seventh officer-involved shooting on Oahu this year.
Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said at a news conference Wednesday that the incident is being investigated as an attempted murder of the police officer. It’s unknown whether the suspect or the passenger had been hit, she said.
Honolulu police arrested Troy Salas, 23, as a suspect in the incident, Thursday. He has not been charged yet.
Around 5:50 a.m., an HPD officer followed a car that was driving at 54 mph in a 25 mph zone near the HECO power plant in Pearl City to a residential area, Ballard said. Upon reaching a dead end, the officer exited his car, at which point the driver drove toward the officer, she added.
The car missed him, but the officer feared for his life and discharged his firearm, she said.
Shortly after, she said HPD officers were called to a suspicious vehicle on Kaonohi Street near Pearlridge Center. Wednesday morning that the heavy police presence in the area led to lockdowns at Pearl Ridge Elementary and Our Savior Lutheran schools.
“Obviously, the investigation is going to be ongoing,” Ballard said.
The identities of the suspect and witness have not been released. The chief said she would prefer not to release too many details while the investigation is ongoing.
The officer involved in the incident is a 13-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, she said.
