An autopsy was conducted Tuesday on a 30-year-old Hilo man shot by police Friday. ADVERTISING An autopsy was conducted Tuesday on a 30-year-old Hilo man shot by police Friday. Preliminary reports indicate Stephen Joshua Whitney died of a gunshot wound
An autopsy was conducted Tuesday on a 30-year-old Hilo man shot by police Friday.
Preliminary reports indicate Stephen Joshua Whitney died of a gunshot wound to the torso, police said Wednesday. A toxicology study also will be conducted. Results could take several weeks.
The shooting occurred at about 4 p.m. Friday on Volcano Highway (Highway 11) in Keaau. Police were on a manhunt for Whitney, who was driving a stolen pickup taken after he reportedly stabbed his 41-year-old girlfriend, Catherine Arbour, Friday morning at the Oceanfront 121 apartments, formerly the Country Club Condos, on Banyan Drive in Hilo. Officers found the truck, with Whitney behind the wheel, parked in a Hilo-bound lane of the highway, facing the opposite direction of the flow of traffic near the entrance of Shipman Industrial Park.
Police say when officers approached the truck, Whitney failed to comply with orders and instead drove forward, gunning his engine and heading toward an officer. Another officer fired the fatal shots, police said.
Fire officials say when paramedics arrived at the scene, police were performing CPR on Whitney. He was taken by ambulance to Hilo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Arbour also was taken to Hilo Medical Center, initially in critical condition. She underwent surgery for her injuries and was later released from the hospital.
Arbour faces second-degree robbery and second-degree attempted burglary charges in two unrelated felony incidents. She is free on $12,500 bail.
The officer who discharged his firearm has three years’ experience, police said, and was placed on paid administrative leave.
Police are conducting criminal and internal administrative investigations into Whitney’s shooting and are seeking information. Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Detective Wendall Carter at 961-2383 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
