Sword attack suspect ruled mentally unfit

Associated Press

WAILUKU, Maui — A man charged with attacking a Maui police officer while carrying a samurai sword last summer has been ruled mentally unfit to face court proceedings.

Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto based his Tuesday ruling on reports from three mental-health experts who examined Casey Strom Nies after his Aug. 26 arrest in Kihei. The report described Nies as "actively psychotic." He is to be sent to the Hawai'i State Hospital on O'ahu for treatment.

Police said Nies refused to drop a 28-inch sword despite being doused with pepper spray. He attacked a police officer, who shot him in the pelvis. Nies earlier had slashed a Kihei man who said he had lured the swordsman outside a drugstore, where he had threatened to kill cashiers.

Nies, 30, was being held without bail on charges of attempted murder and robbery.

Deputy public defender Barry Porter said Nies previously had been treated at a mental institution in California and had been arrested after exhibiting bizarre behavior on Kaua'i.