Eight arrested after police chase, gunfire

By James Gonser
Advertiser Leeward Bureau

A 31-year-old man who authorities say tried to run over a police officer yesterday and was wounded by police gunfire, was arrested after a manhunt that stretched from Nanakuli to Kapolei and resulted in several arrests.

A plainclothes police officer, 46, was on a stake-out of several alleged drug houses in Nanakuli at about 10:15 a.m. yesterday when he was forced to jump out of the way of a white Honda sedan backing out of a driveway on Palikea Street.

The officer pushed a resident to safety, then fired two shots at the fleeing vehicle, according to police.

The suspect and a woman were in the Honda, which was abandoned in Nanakuli. The pair then drove to Kapolei in a stolen white Jeep Cherokee.

A resident noticed the suspect was bleeding and called 911. Officers stopped the Jeep on Kama'aha Avenue and arrested the pair and two other women and a man in the vehicle in connection with car theft and hindering prosecution.

Nearby Kapolei Elementary School was locked down for about an hour to keep children away from possible harm, police said.

The suspect had been shot in the shoulder. After his arrest, he was taken to Queen's Medical Center. His condition was not known.

In Nanakuli, two men and a woman being questioned were arrested for outstanding warrants at 89-336 Palikea St., which neighbors say is a well- known drug house.

The plainclothes officer, a 16-year veteran of the department, has been assigned to desk duty until an internal investigation is completed.