GRAPHIC: Maui police release bodycam video from fatal Kahului officer-involved shooting

MPD was responding to a call of a man who was reportedly suicidal.
Published: Jan. 3, 2023 at 7:04 PM HST|Updated: Jan. 4, 2023 at 11:20 AM HST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) - 47 seconds.

That’s how long Maui police say an officer was on scene before opening fire on a man who charged at him last week in Kahului.

The man who was shot has been identified by his mother as 29-year-old Reynaldo Ricarde, of Kahului.

The department held a news conference Tuesday afternoon to release new details and bodycam video of the shooting.

Police officials said dispatchers got a call that a man was reportedly suicidal on Puukani Street around 7 p.m. last Thursday. Authorities said the responding officer arrived minutes later and saw a man holding an unknown object over his head advancing toward him. According to MPD, the man was yelling and covered in blood from self-inflicted injuries to his neck.

Investigators said the officer tried to talk to the man.

Police said the the went back into the house for approximately 11 seconds then rushed back out.

The department held a press conference on Tuesday to detail what happened.

“Upon exiting the residence, the officer ordered the individual to show him his hands,” CID Detective Taylor Kamakawiwoole said. “The involved individual then charged towards the officer with a long pointed object raised above his head directed at the officer.”

Kamakawiwoole said the officer yelled verbal commands, ordering Ricarde to stop approximately five times before discharging the firearm. “The individual then fell to the ground and then began to say, ‘Shoot me,” and was later heard saying, “Kill me.”

Police officials did not identify what kind of weapon the man had, but they showed photos of it.

Maui police officials say this is the weapon Ricarde rushed toward the officer with.
Maui police officials say this is the weapon Ricarde rushed toward the officer with.(Maui Police Department)

Ricarde’s mother told Hawaii News Now that her son was holding a knife sharpener and didn’t deserve to die.

“We understand that we have a grieving family who lost a loved one,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said. “There are no winners in most critical incidents and we all pay a price. It is the suspect’s actions that dictate our officer’s response.”

This is Maui’s first officer-involved shooting since 2018.

Retired HPD Deputy Chief John McCarthy said the officer appeared to have responded appropriately. “The officer is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life, even though he appeared to have done everything proper,” said McCarthy.

But Wailua Brandman, a clinical nurse specialist in adult psychiatric mental health, said the shooting could have been avoided.

“If the police were trained better, to understand that this might be the plan of the man to prod them into killing him, then they may have been able to prevent that,” Brandman said.

However, Brandman and McCarthy agree that mental health experts should partner with officers on suicide calls.

“That was something we explored when I was deputy chief, we were looking at a project out of San Diego where they had mental health personnel right along with the patrol officers on a daily basis,” said McCarthy.

“The problem is, in Hawaii we just don’t have enough mental health personnel to go around.”

“Three governors ago, I think the funding was cut back and it’s never really been fully restored,” said Brandman.

He added that maybe with the current state administration being “in the hands of a physician” the state might see a return to adequate funding.

Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.