Big Isle police chief offers condolences to victim's father

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna yesterday called the father of a man who was struck and killed by a police vehicle early Sunday to offer his condolences and promise he will look into the man's death.

Gregory Pluta Jr. was struck and killed by a police vehicle early Sunday.

Police said the younger Pluta, Gregory C. Pluta Jr., was on the southbound lane of Ali'i Drive about 1:27 a.m. in Kailua, Kona early Sunday when he was struck by a 1997 GMC sport utility vehicle driven by officer Bryan Ellis, 29.

Ellis was on duty and was leading four units responding to a call of a disturbance at the Keauhou Pier when his vehicle struck Pluta, police said.

An autopsy has been ordered, and the police traffic enforcement unit will investigate the death. An internal administrative investigation also is under way, which is "standard operating procedure," according to a police statement.

Deputy Chief Harry Kubojiri said Ellis has been placed on administrative leave. Kubojiri stressed that leave is not a punishment and is meant to ensure the officer is ready to return to duty before he goes back to work.

Gregory Pluta Sr. said police told him at one point his son was sitting in the roadway with beer cans around him when he was struck, but said Mahuna gave him a different version of events yesterday.

Mahuna said Gregory Pluta Jr. was walking in the roadway near the center line and was wearing dark clothes at the time of the collision, Gregory Pluta Sr. said.

Kubojiri said he cannot comment because exactly what Pluta was doing in the road is part of the investigation.

However, Gregory Pluta Sr. said a friend reported the younger Pluta was actually wearing a light colored shirt, and police later issued a press release confirming the shirt was light colored.

Pluta also said he has been told by an officer who was in one of the four police vehicles that the officers were speeding to a drug raid, not a disturbance.

Kubojiri said evidence at the scene will allow police to determine how fast the vehicle that struck Pluta was traveling.

The younger Pluta did not have a car and traveled around Kona on foot, his father said. The younger man had lived in Kona for about three years, sometimes living with a roommate or sometimes staying with friends, but had no permanent address.

Gregory Pluta Jr. was a mechanic who was always ready to fix a friend's car or paint a house or trim a tree to help out, his father said. He liked to read and was a formidable Scrabble player.

Gregory Pluta Sr. said he had pressed his son to settle down, get steady work and get married, telling his son that he wanted grandchildren.

"He said, 'Dad, life is good; it's December and the sun is shining. Dad, it's January and I can sleep on the beach, and I've got all these friends, I've got my whole life ahead of me, there's no problem,' " Gregory Pluta Sr. said.

At other times when Gregory Pluta Sr. pressed his son to settle down and find steady work, Gregory Pluta Jr. would blame his drinking, the father said.

"He just loved walking the streets; he just loved the street people," the elder Pluta said. Pluta said he is seeking a lawyer to help him find out what happened.

The death is the third time a police vehicle has struck and killed a pedestrian on the Big Island in three years.

An off-duty Big Island police sergeant struck and killed a Puna man early on Feb. 4, 2002. In that case, police said Sgt. James Gusman was driving to his Hilo home from Ka'u when he struck Kamekona Cummings, 33, of Hawaiian Acres subdivision near the intersection of the Belt Road with Kuauli Road in mauka Puna.

On Dec. 2, 2001, Gabina Makil, 66, of Captain Cook, was killed when she was hit by a police car driven by Kona patrolman Calvin Sasaki as she crossed Mamalahoa Highway fronting the Central Kona Union Church in Kealakekua.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 935-3916.