Trial opens for Maui man accused of killing police officer

WAILUKU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of a man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Maui police officer last year.

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Clembert Alii Kaneholani, 39, is accused of fatally shooting Officer Suzanne O in Paia.

Maui Prosecutor Andrew Martin opened his statement with a jailhouse phone call he says shows Kaneholani bragging that he shot and killed O.

In the call, a voice says, “I got one! Hahaha. Yeah! I got um!”

“The facts will show that he did so intentionally, knowing full well that she was a law enforcement officer and that she was in the performance of her duties,“ Martin said.

O was the first officer on scene after the caretaker of the Paia Mill called 911 to report someone shooting at him.

Martin said Kaneholani wanted revenge after police served him with a temporary restraining order, took his son away from him and removed him from his Makawao home.

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In another jailhouse call played by the prosecution, a voice says, “I wasn’t supposed to live through this. These cops were supposed to kill me. That’s why I did what I did. I had to take one of their lives. They were supposed to take me, but a bunch of ****, they didn’t have the heart to kill me.”

Kaneholani’s attorney, Zachary Raidmae, said police never announced their presence that night.

“You will not hear a single one of these officers in the field that night as they were pursuing Ali’i, as they’re creeping through the buildings, making their way through the field, you will not hear, ‘Maui police! Put your hands up and come out!’ You won’t hear it,” Raidmae said.

Raidmae said his client never intended to kill O.

“As he’s pinned down on the ground, realizing that Officer O is silent and passing away, he says, ‘Tita, I’m sorry,’” said Raidmae. “He did not mean to shoot her.”

If the jury finds Kaneholani guilty of all charges, he faces life in prison without parole.

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Trial resumes Wednesday morning.