Hilo Inmate Escape

[alohabear]

I like it when law enforcement does it's job. In this report about the prison escape in Hilo, the correction officer did the right thing and stopped the escapee with a shot to the head. Sure it's sad that the man died, but the officer was protecting the citizens of Hilo. Some may say "why didn't he shoot him in the leg?" , this isn't TV people, the officer did what he was trained to do.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

What's amazing though is how he got that headshot dead on while the guy was fleeing! I mean this is downtown Hilo and if that officer missed, that shot could have hit a bystander, car, building or anything downwind from his target.

When I heard it was a headshot I got to wondering if this officer played a lot of first shooter video games where a headshot is basically the only one acceptable. And in this case it would have paid off for us taxpayers as the cost of a single bullet is far cheaper than a lifetime of incarceration or future arrests. This single bullet saved many people from being victimized by this prisoner who would probably have been let go sooner than later back into society to wreak more havoc on it's citizens.

One crime, one bullet, one grave. Use the tax savings to educate our keiki so they don't grow up like that bastard and his death isn't in vain. An institutional shot to the head may sound cold but oh well, he took that chance, bolted and lost, he could have stayed put but he chose wrong just like his crime and in the end he paid for his mistakes with his life.

We all make choices in life, he chose death and that was his mistake. Society is better off without people who make bad choices like that.

I'll probably go to hell for that statement, but in mortality we're not perfect and neither are our decisions that affect our ticket up or down in the after life. We only think we're doing good, but there's only one way to find out and that's in death we either go up, down or stay on earth as dust in the wind.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

Or maybe it was just a lucky shot. All my law enforcement friends say that their training is to go for a body shot, because it's the biggest target and you've got the best chance of hitting it, compared to a head or a limb.

[1stwahine]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

My guess, Military Training. Sharp Shooter. Nuff Said.

Auntie Lynn

[LikaNui]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

What's amazing though is how he got that headshot dead on while the guy was fleeing! I mean this is downtown Hilo and if that officer missed, that shot could have hit a bystander, car, building or anything downwind from his target.

And the escapee was handcuffed at the time! I've gotta imagine that it's pretty hard to run fast if you're wearing handcuffs, whether they handcuffs are in front of you or behind. Why didn't the officer chase the guy?!? Should've been able to catch him very quickly.
Firing a gun in a crowded downtown area should be grounds for dismissal, too.

[Miulang]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

And the escapee was handcuffed at the time! I've gotta imagine that it's pretty hard to run fast if you're wearing handcuffs, whether they handcuffs are in front of you or behind. Why didn't the officer chase the guy?!? Should've been able to catch him very quickly.
Firing a gun in a crowded downtown area should be grounds for dismissal, too.

Maybe the cop had eaten one too many doughnuts in his career and couldn't run fast enough? Maybe the cop thought he was Rambo manifested and let his training overtake his natural instincts. Maybe he was mentally unbalanced himself and was "just having a bad hair day." Local cops are bad enough, but I swear, many of the State troopers (at least up here anyway) are probably Marine Corps rejects who like the feeling of power they get when they strap that gun on.

Miulang

P.S. You do have to possess a certain kind of personality to become a cop. You have to think in black and white terms most of the time and you have to want to control a situation all the time if you can.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

Miulang, the officer in question was a corrections officer, not a police officer. Prison guard, not cop. It's a slightly different skill set.

[Miulang]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

Miulang, the officer in question was a corrections officer, not a police officer. Prison guard, not cop.

Oh, so he was an ARMY reject, then?

Miulang

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

I am so not going there.

[1stwahine]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

Hmmm...makes you wonder what the qualifications are to have a carreer in Law Enforcement these days. Passing the needed tests, Physical, Psycological etc. Still, it doesn't guarrantee that each candidate is 100% qualified. Look what is happening currently.

Mr. and Mrs. John Q Public is not safe as we are thought to believe are we?

Auntie Lynn

[lurkah]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

The HA article stated that after hearing the gunshot, a witness across the street said, "the side door to the prison van was ajar and the driver jumped out and sprinted around the front of the vehicle to hold the side door shut to prevent about a half-dozen other inmates from exiting."

Therefore, pursuing the fleeing inmate may not have been an option given the need for damage containment, although it's not really clear from reading the article whether the driver and the shooter were one and the same prison guard.

I'd like to know how the prison van's sliding door became opened which allowed all of that pilikia to go down.

[MadAzza]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

Mr. and Mrs. John Q Public is not safe as we are thought to believe are we?

No, we're not, which is why law-abiding residents who are U.S. citizens deserve the right to defend themselves. The police aren't there when a crime upon a person is being committed; they get there afterward. Not letting us arm ourselves against society's parasites is itself a crime.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

First off, I my opinion, it seems that the officer is being put down more often than not in this thread. True?

He was the "Good" guy and doing his job the best that he could and even the outcome is acceptable under the circumstances.

I don't agree with all the laws or rules of this land, like only 55 for the freeway or how much I have to pay in taxes. But I realize that if and or when I choose to not follow them, I stand a chance of getting caught and facing the consequences.

This inmate had been caught, for what crime I do not know, but was trying to escape the consequence of jail time. He would not have had an easy time finding a job or residence, especially with handcuffs so he would have in my opinion been hazardous to whomever had the pleasure of meeting up with him. It's sad that he didn't stop and think, but he didn't and the corrections officer did the right thing.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

I agree with Menehune Man and Craig and alohabear, the corrections officer did what he was supposed to do. This kind of criticism comes up every time a law enforcement officer uses deadly force, but honestly, what are the other options? And Aunty, yes, in this case John Q Public is safe -- would you rather that a potentially dangerous prisoner escaped into the community? I wonder how his victims would have felt about that?

From the Honolulu Advertiser article:

Leialoha had a criminal history that included eight convictions, according to the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center.

He had been held at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center since Sunday for violating terms of his parole, according to the Department of Public Safety.

On Dec. 12, 2002, Leialoha was sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, court records show. Last October, he was found guilty of failing to make a court appearance and contempt of court and received a seven-day sentence.

In August 1998, Leialoha was found guilty of second-degree assault and second-degree robbery, both felonies, and sentenced to one year in prison and five years probation. He also was ordered to pay $2,278 in restitution.

In August 2001, a summons was issued for Leialoha's arrest after he violated terms of his probation, according to court records. A Big Island judge resentenced him to a year in prison and five years probation.

[Miulang]

Re: Hilo Inmate Escape

From the news accounts I read, he was a major felon who was in jail this time for a parole violation. His felonies included drugs, robbery, theft and assault, not sexual predation or murder.

If he was a sexual predator or murderer, then hell yeah, kill 'em. But most of his crimes were pretty penny ante and there was a case of public safety involved. It'll be interesting what any internal investigation of the incident reveals.

We had a similar case up here a few weeks ago where a prisoner who was being transported from a cell to a court room overpowered a jail guard in an elevator, stopped the elevator, took her gun away from her and was in the process of trying to shoot her dead when other guards were able to overpower the guy (but only after 20 minutes of that poor woman struggling with that prisoner in that elevator! ). The woman guard ended up in the hospital with internal injuries. Same thing happened in Altanta last year when a prisoner overpowered a female guard and then went on a killing rampage (only to be coaxed into giving up by a woman who confessed later to being a meth addict). Sometimes in the interest of saving money, governments will act in ways to endanger many innocent peoples' lives.

Miulang