Posted on: Friday, December 7, 2001

Officer shot in Kapalua leaves hospital

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

WAILUKU, Maui — A Maui police officer shot while making a traffic stop Tuesday was released from Maui Memorial Medical Center yesterday, as police continued the hunt for the unidentified gunman.

Patrolman Donald B. Nakooka said he was feeling fine and would be returning to work as soon as his doctors allowed it.

Nakooka, 31, said he wasn't prepared to make any further statements about the shooting, which occurred Tuesday afternoon on Honoapi'ilani Highway between Office Road and D.T. Fleming Park in Kapalua.

Nakooka had pulled over a sedan because it had no license plates. As the officer approached, the man in the car fired a shot, then drove toward Lahaina.

Nakooka, a 10-year Maui Police Department veteran, was hit in the abdomen, but a Kevlar vest stopped the bullet, leaving him with bruises and other minor injuries.

The gunman remained at large last night. He is described as possibly of Filipino descent, in his 30s, with a slim build and black hair with a tapered cut.

Police also were still looking for the gunman's older-model, gray, four-door sedan, possibly a Ford or Chevrolet. Anyone with information on the case should call the Maui police nonemergency number at (808) 244-6400 or Maui Crimestoppers at 242-6966.