HONOLULU (KHON2) — Honolulu Police say Andrew Schmitke, who was reported missing from the Hawaii State Hospital has been arrested. The 29-year-old was last seen at the facility on Sunday.
Court records show that Schmitke has a lengthy criminal record which includes burglary, and assault for allegedly stabbing someone.
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The Hawaii State Hospital has a $160 million state-of-the-art facility that was completed in May. But officials say it’s still not being used due to construction defects and other issues.
The State Department of Health gave a tour of the hospital’s psychiatric ward when it was completed. It was touted as highly secure, with staff stationed so they’re able to see down every corridor.
But to this day, officials have been told that the building sits empty.
“It’s frustrating that we’ve had this happen yet again. But now the solution is sitting there at the campus empty,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, chairman of the Senate Health Committee.
He says he was briefed by state hospital officials after the escape happened. He believes it could have been prevented if the facility had been in use.
“The building was the thing that the Department of Health said they needed in order to manage the risk of escapes in the future, so it’s just extremely frustrating,” said Keohokalole.
He says the building has all kinds of construction issues that need to be fixed. The Kaneohe Neighborhood Board was told that among them are the doorknobs.
“They weren’t safe for the patients,” said Mo Radke, chairman of the Kaneohe Neighborhood Board. “A patient could hang themselves using a door knob. Somebody at the Department Of Health who is responsible for putting out $160 million to do something, there should be an expert looking at at these plans and then making a decision when these plans are executed,”
Lawmakers were also told that there are problems with drainage and other safety issues.
“And then also that they’ve had some issues with staff training and protocol,” said Keohokalole. “You know none of those are really good enough at this point. It’s been almost 12 months and the people who are a danger to themselves and the staff and the community need to be in those higher security wings of the facility.”
He says he plans to hold a hearing to push administrators to start using the new facility. DOH says no one was available today to answer our questions.