Posted on: Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Off-duty policeman arrested in standoff

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

The arrest of a 37-year-old Honolulu police officer yesterday, on suspicion of abusing and kidnapping his girlfriend, ended a four-hour standoff that arose after an early-morning domestic argument at the suspect's Waipi'o Gentry home.

The suspect and the girlfriend, 48, both were booked in the investigation into possible charges of abuse of a household member, Assistant Chief Henry Lau said. Detectives are investigating possible kidnapping charges against the officer and an outstanding traffic warrant against the woman.

Lau said that after the standoff, the officer and his girlfriend were treated for injuries apparently incurred in the argument, which generated a call to police dispatchers at 2:20 a.m. yesterday. The man was treated at The Queen's Medical Center and the woman went to Pali Momi Medical Center before both were booked.

Soon after police arrived at the ground-floor apartment of 94-1459 Waipi'o Uka St., Lau said, the woman walked out of the apartment and one of the officers heard the sound of a weapon being "racked," or prepared for loading.

Specialized Services Division officers, including a crisis negotiation team, arrived at about 4:30 a.m.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the man failed to answer phone calls to the apartment or respond to officers addressing him through a bullhorn, Lau said. According to Lau, officers suspect that the man may have been sleeping and may have unplugged the phone.

At about 8:20 a.m., Lau said, the standoff ended when the suspect walked out the front door, partially dressed in his police uniform and apparently preparing to go to work. He seemed unaware that armed officers had assembled outside the home.

The officer, a 10-year veteran, is assigned to the Wahiawa district, Lau said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the location of the standoff due to a photograher's error