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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, December 21, 2009

Officers armed with rifles shot man in standoff twice

Advertiser Staff

A man who was killed by Big Island police last week following a 10-hour standoff in lower Puna was shot twice by officers using rifles, police confirmed said.

An autopsy has determined that 60-year-old Daniel Heidt of Kehena died of a gunshot wound to the upper torso, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

Police Maj. Sam Thomas said Heidt was shot by Special Response Team officers armed with .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles.

Thomas said that three officers, all part of SRT, have been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by both the Criminal Investigation Section and Internal Affairs.

"The two officers who fired (their weapons) ... one is a veteran of over five years and the other is a veteran of over six years," Thomas said.

The third officer, according to Thomas, did not fire but was "right there in the thick of things." Thomas said the two shots that hit Heidt were the only ones fired by police.

Thomas said a toxicology report on Heidt is expected in "about six to eight weeks."

Police said Heidt was shot and killed after coming out of his home at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. Police said that he came out brandishing a machete.