Maui police release camera footage of officer-involved shooting

Maui police have released a 46-second clip of body-worn camera footage from a police officer who shot and killed a reportedly suicidal Kahului man who charged at him last week.

Today the Maui Police Department released the footage, which shows the entire interaction between a police officer and a man, identified as 29-year-old Reynaldo Ricarde of Kahului, leading up to the shooting.

After receiving a “disorderly call” and another about a suicidal male at around 7 p.m. on Dec. 28, an MPD police officer responded to a residence at 12 Puukani St., Deputy Chief Wade Maeda said in a news conference today.

The released body-worn camera footage shows a distraught male who walked outside the house moments after the officer exited a patrol vehicle. The male, who was wearing a white shirt heavily stained with what police said was his own blood, was yelling unintelligibly when he walked outside, the video shows.

The officer pulled out his firearm, pointed it at the male and ordered him to “stop” multiple times before asking, “What’s going on, my friend?”

The male, without answering, crouched down and retreated back into the residence while the officer pointed his firearm at him. At one point the man could be heard weeping from inside.

A neighbor who was outside during the interaction can be heard telling the officer the man was suffering from a “mental problem.” The officer asked the neighbor if there were any firearms inside the home, although it’s unclear if he received an answer.

Police said that about 11 seconds after retreating to the home, the male walked outside again. The officer immediately pointed his firearm at him and said, “Show me your hands.”

The male, still weeping, then appears to charge at the officer, who yells at him to “stop” multiple times. Police reported that the male was holding an “object” pointed at the officer while running at him.

The footage ends prior to the officer firing his gun.

MPD lead Detective Taylor Kamakawiwoole said at today’s news conference that, after the shooting, Ricarde asked to be shot again.

“The individual then fell to the ground and then began to say, ‘Shoot me,’ and is … later heard saying, ‘Kill me,’” Kamakawiwoole said at the news conference.

Kamakawiwoole described a bathroom at the residence with “large pools of blood” and a kitchen knife wrapped in a green towel. Kamakawiwoole said the male used the knife to inflict injuries to his own neck. There were also pools of blood in the living room, he said.

The officer involved was not identified. MPD on the night of the shooting said he was placed on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.

Chief John Pelletier at the news conference said the “value and sanctity of human life is a top priority, if not the top priority for this department.”

He said that life-saving efforts were performed on Ricarde “as soon as possible” after the shooting.

“We understand that we have a grieving family who lost a loved one,” Pelletier said. “There are no winners in most critical incidents, and we all pay a price. It is the suspects’ actions that determine our officers’ response.”