The family of an elderly pedestrian killed three years ago by a car driven by an off-duty detective said police are continuing to cover up for the officer after the family learned yesterday from police that no prosecution is planned.

But a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, which would make the decision on whether a criminal case is pursued, said the matter still is under investigation.

The family of Ok Nam Lee was hoping that authorities would reopen the 2005 case against Lt. Bert Dement and pursue a negligent homicide charge after the family turned over new evidence to police and prosecutors in April. The evidence showed the officer was speeding when he struck Lee, 73, in a marked Ala Moana Boulevard crosswalk in October 2005, the family said.

Based on the new information, prosecutors in May told The Advertiser they would "re-examine" the case.

But in a letter received by the family's attorney yesterday, Police Chief Boisse Correa said the case would not be reopened or prosecuted due to insufficient evidence. That determination was made in consultation with the prosecutor's office, Correa said.

However, Jim Fulton, a prosecutors' spokesman, told The Advertiser he couldn't comment on the case because it still is under review.

The Lee family and its lawyer reacted angrily to Correa's letter.

"If you're a police officer, you have a license to kill pedestrians," said attorney Arthur Park. "There's a double standard."

"Because he was a police officer, I totally feel like they're not doing anything and they're just trying to let this go," said Shawn Baker, 27, Lee's granddaughter. She said Dement never apologized to the family for what happened.

Correa, in a statement issued after a news conference called by Park, said, "Mr. Park's allegations are irresponsible and insulting to the integrity of the police department and the prosecutor's office."

He said officers go to great lengths to ensure investigations are thorough and fair.

"After closely examining the evidence, including the documents that Mr. Park provided, we have determined that there is no reason to pursue this investigation further," Correa wrote.

The police investigation in 2005 turned up several witnesses who thought Dement was speeding, including a driver who said he was going 40 mph when Dement passed him moments before the collision. That driver estimated Dement's speed at between 50 and 60 mph. The speed limit was 35 mph.

But the police analysis of skid marks and the distance the body was thrown — an analysis Park said was flawed — prompted authorities to conclude Dement wasn't speeding. A witness who said Lee was crossing against a red light also contributed to the initial decision by prosecutors in late 2005 not to pursue a criminal case.

As part of a civil lawsuit against Dement — the city has since been added as a defendant — the family obtained sworn statements from a police investigator involved in the case that tended to support the family's claim that Dement was speeding when Lee was struck in the early morning darkness near Ala Moana Beach Park. One analysis suggested the officer was going about 50 mph.

Prosecutors previously have said speed isn't the only factor when determining whether enough evidence exists to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime happened.

In court documents in the civil lawsuit, Dement denied any negligence.

The Lee case was one of two from 2005 in which elderly pedestrians were killed in O'ahu crosswalks by cars driven by off-duty police officers, according to police records. The officer in the second case also wasn't prosecuted because of insufficient evidence, the records showed.

But like the Lees, the family of victim Tatsuye "Barbara" Yoshizumi, 77, who was struck at night on an 'Aiea street, questioned whether police conducted a fair investigation. They said in May that officers failed to take basic steps to ensure the integrity of the probe, including apparently not doing a speed analysis. No such analysis was mentioned in the final accident report, even though investigators initially said speed may have been a factor.