The Honolulu City Council has opted not to vote on a proposed $1.5 million settlement for the family of Lindani Myeni, a former professional rugby player from South Africa who was shot to death during a confrontation with Honolulu police in 2021.
The council was to have taken up the settlement at its regularly scheduled monthly meeting in October but postponed the vote amid strong opposition from the Honolulu Police Department, prosecuting attorney Steve Alm, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and others.
On Thursday, council chair Tommy Waters canceled the vote outright so the matter can be settled in court.
“I am pleased that the settlement in the Myeni case was rejected,” Alm said in a statement released on Thursday. “My office did an independent investigation of all the available evidence in this case and determined that the Honolulu police officers involved acted professionally and appropriately."
“Our investigation also determined that no charges would be filed as a result of the officers’ use of deadly force in this incident,” Alm continued. “Settling this case would also say that the officers involved were motivated by racial prejudice. There was zero evidence of that.”
Myeni’s widow, Lindsay, filed a wrongful death suit against the City and County of Honolulu alleging that racial prejudice was a motivating factor in HPD officers shooting her husband, who was Black.
The incident occurred on April 14, 2021, when the 29-year-old Myeni, who had moved to Hawaii with his wife and two children two months earlier, reportedly followed a couple into their Nuuanu home, possibly mistaking it for a nearby Hare Krishna temple. The residents called 911 believing Myeni was intending to burglarize their home.
Arriving officers shined a flashlight at Myeni, who was standing in a darkened driveway outside the home, and ordered him to get onto the ground. A physical altercation ensued and officers first shocked Myeni with a Taser and then fatally him.
A subsequent autopsy revealed that Myeni had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition often associated with concussions suffered in contact sports, resulting in speculation that the condition was behind Myeni’s confused and erratic behavior prior to the encounter with police and his aggressive response once they arrived.
“Being a police officer can be a tough and dangerous job,” Alm said. “So far in 2024, 39 cases of Assault Against a Law Enforcement Officer have been referred to my office, many taking place during arrests. If officers do something wrong, they should be held accountable. But when they do something right, they should be defended.”
Prosecutors declined to pursue charges against the officers involved in the shooting, including one who suffered serious injuries at Myeni’s hands.
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.