Posted on: Saturday, October 26, 2002

Man dies after police confrontation

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A man died yesterday afternoon following a confrontation with police in McCully.

Police said the man, in his 30s, may have been high on drugs when he resisted arrest near 2123 Date St. Residents called police to the area after they saw the man breaking into a car, police said.

When officers arrived shortly before 4 p.m., they found the man in the car. Police attempted to arrest the man but he refused.

Police struggled with the man and at least one officer used pepper spray on him, police said.

But police said the man went into convulsions and then cardiac arrest. Officers performed CPR and revived him briefly before ambulance personnel arrived, an Emergency Medical Services spokesman said.

The man was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

The case was turned over to police Internal Affairs for investigation. Police initially said no excessive force was used to subdue the man.

The incident began on Pumehana and Lime streets in McCully when ambulance personnel saw the man on the roof of a house. The man fell off the roof and became stuck in a tree.

An ambulance attendant described the man as appearing to be high on drugs, and said he was agitated and threatened ambulance attendants. The man jumped out of the tree, charged the ambulance workers and ran toward the Ala Wai Canal.