Man shot by Maui police had minor convictions
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — The man who was shot and killed by a Maui police officer Sunday night had three petty misdemeanor convictions on the Big Island.
According to court records, Charles Benson Ogden served one day in jail on a harassment charge in 1988 and two days in jail on a theft charge in 1981 and was fined $25 on a theft charge in 1984.
Charles Benson Ogden was shot and killed Sunday on a Kihei beach.
Ogden, a former Oklahoma resident who apparently had no local address, was shot at 6:15 p.m. Sunday on a Kihei beach about 150 yards south of Lipoa Street.
Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Maui Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division said yesterday that the 32-year-old uniformed patrol officer involved in the shooting fired his gun after Ogden sprayed him with a 9.2-ounce can of pepper spray.
The officer, whose name was not released, was responding to a report of a man sitting close to the beach access with his shorts pulled down around his knees. Ogden reportedly began running or rapidly walking off and, when confronted by the officer, pulled out the can and sprayed him. The officer then shot him.
Ogden was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
Police scheduled a news conference for tomorrow to discuss the case.
The officer, who has been with the Maui Police Department for nearly 10 years, was treated at Maui Memorial and released. He is on paid administrative leave.
It was the fourth shooting involving Maui police in seven months and the second fatal shooting in less than six weeks. On Jan. 23, a patrol officer shot a woman in the head as she was trying to flee in a stolen car in Pa'ia.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
