Tavis Kekua Apo, 30, of Waimea, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned yesterday on charges related to an incident in which he was shot near Kaua‘i Police Department head-quarters by a still-unnamed KPD officer. Apo was charged with assaulting a police
Tavis Kekua Apo, 30, of Waimea, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned
yesterday on charges related to an incident in which he was shot near
Kaua‘i Police Department head-quarters by a still-unnamed KPD officer.
Apo was charged with assaulting a police officer, reckless endangering,
and terroristic threatening, the result of an incident where he
allegedly drove his sport-utility vehicle into a police car, injuring an
officer, and threatened officers with a knife and pistol.
After he reversed his vehicle and appeared to be maneuvering to ram the
police vehicle again, according to officers on the scene, he was shot
once in the face by a KPD officer, then subdued and taken into custody
without further incident.
The injured officer, who has also not yet been named, was treated at
Wilcox Memorial Hospital and released.
Apo had been confined for medical treatment at Wilcox Memorial Hospital
and The Queen’s Medical Center on O‘ahu since the Sept. 18 incident,
which involved a police officer shooting at him after he failed to
surrender his weapons and rammed the vehicle he was driving into a
police officer’s car, according to county sources.
Apo’s preliminary hearing is set for next week.
When he was arrested by Detective Joe Adric on Wednesday just after 11
a.m., Apo was charged with three counts of terroristic threatening, two
counts of assaulting a police officer, driving under the influence of an
intoxicant, criminal property damage and reckless endangering, according
to police records.
Lt. Roy Asher of the KPD Adult & Major Crimes Section said the criminal
portion of the two-part investigation has been completed, and turned
over to county prosecutors, while the administrative portion of the
investigation is nearly done.
Asher said the KPD officer who fired the shot is a “veteran,” and has
been on paid administrative leave pending the results of the
administrative investigation.
The names of all the involved officers should be available on Monday,
during the preliminary hearing for Apo, when all will likely be called
to testify, Asher said.
