HONOLULU — A suspect in three bank robberies with a lengthy criminal record was shot and killed by police at 4 a.m. Friday after an hours-long standoff.
The man, who police did not identify, had barricaded himself inside a Waikiki apartment Thursday night.
The Honolulu Police Department said Friday morning at a news conference that the suspect’s criminal record included 41 convictions, 27 of which were for felonies.
“We try to negotiate peacefully,” employing a crisis negotiating team, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan said, adding that the suspect was afforded “the time to make a decision to come out peacefully.”
HPD and its federal partners, who were involved because the robberies involved banks, said they had an idea where the suspect might be and were able to locate him at a unit at 2509 Ala Wai Blvd. near Liliuokalani Avenue.
Logan said authorities were not following him, but added that the information was preliminary, that the investigation is ongoing and officers were still gathering evidence.
Police said the man matched the description of the bank robbery suspect, and they were able to confirm that he was in the condo unit.
Police began evacuating nearby residents at about 8 p.m., and crisis negotiators passed him a phone and attempted to communicate with him over the next several hours but he refused to speak, the chief said.
At one point the suspect pointed a firearm at a drone HPD had deployed outside the unit, which confirmed suspicions he was armed and was holed up inside the bathroom, Logan said. The use of the drone helps police to understand what the unit looks like if necessary to make a “dynamic entry,” he said.
After eight hours of trying to speak with the suspect, at about 4 a.m., Specialized Services Division officers positioned outside fired less-than-lethal chemical canisters and rounds of pepper spray into the unit. Police said no flash-bang grenades were used.
According to Logan, the man emerged and pointed a small handgun, which appeared to be a Glock 17, at officers. Four of them responded by firing their weapons, killing the man.
No one else was in the apartment at the time, and no one was injured.
Logan said there were people who had been going in and out of the unit, but that remains under investigation as to whether they knew he was wanted by authorities.
He said the man was not the owner of the unit.
He is suspected in the robbery of two Windward O‘ahu branches of American Savings and Loan, and the Pearl City branch of Commonwealth Business Bank.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office said the identity of the man will likely be released next week, pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.
Logan said police are working to obtain video from other apartments, but SSD officers are not equipped with body-worn cameras because of the tactics and techniques they use.
The four officers who discharged their weapons will be offered three days of administrative leave, Logan said.
