State briefs for June 11

Union: No charges support action in shooting

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii police union leaders on Thursday said a grand jury’s decision not to indict anyone in a shooting that killed a 16-year-old boy supports the officers’ actions.

Grand jurors Wednesday declined to indict three Honolulu police officers in the April shooting death of Iremamber Sykap. Police said the teen was driving a stolen Honda linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse snatching and car theft and led officers on a chase. Medical records provided by an attorney representing Sykap’s family in a lawsuit show the teen was shot in the back of the head and shoulders.

The grand jury’s decision reinforces the officers’ decision-making and actions, Honolulu police Sgt. Malcolm Lutu, president of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, said Thursday.

The officers involved learned about the grand jury’s decision through the news media and were relieved by the outcome, he said. The involved officers have not been identified.

Tool aims to inform Maui of threatening waves

WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — University of Hawaii researchers have developed an online tool that will inform the public when waves are expected to threaten west Maui shorelines, an area particularly prone to coastal erosion as sea levels rise.

The tool can forecast high sea levels and wave effects on 12 shoreline regions up to six days in advance, The Maui News reported.

“Maybe you would avoid traveling on Honoapiilani Highway during a high wave event, or maybe you would avoid going to certain beaches with your family,” Tara Owens of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program said during an online presentation Tuesday.

A 2019 state Coastal Highway Program Report ranked two segments of Honoapiilani Highway in Lahaina among “critical” roads in the islands most susceptible to erosion and structural degradation.