Posted at 11:02 a.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2001

Maui officer stable, shooter still sought

Advertiser Staff

KAPALUA, Maui — A Maui police officer remains in stable condition today after he was shot yesterday by the driver of a car he stopped for a violation on Honoapi'ilani Highway.

Police today continued to hunt for the shooter, a man in a battered gray sedan without license plates.

Officer Donald B. Nakooka, 31, was hit in the abdomen, but a Kevlar vest stopped the bullet, said Deputy Chief Kekuhaupio Akana.

"There is no doubt in my mind that it saved his life," Akana said. "This is a case of God being on our side."

Nakooka was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center.

It was the first shooting of a Maui police officer since 1985.