GOVERNMENT ACTS ON BEHALF OF ITSELF - NOT THE PEOPLE. From [HERE] Dozens of Honolulu police officers appeared alongside other city officials Wednesday in a strong show of opposition to a proposed $1.5 million city settlement over a 2021 officer-involved shooting of an unarmed Black man.

City Council members ultimately postponed voting on whether to approve the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of 29-year-old Lindani Myeni. Myeni was fatally shot on April 14, 2021, after a struggle with officers outside a Honolulu vacation rental he was accused of having entered without permission.

Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton is condemning the Honolulu Police Department for the fatal shooting of a Black man as various versions of what led to the death continue to emerge.

“Lindani Myeni’s killing is yet another sensational racialization and criminalization of an innocent unarmed black man at the hands of police not following the law and proper police procedures,” Sharpton said in a statement.

The two officers who shot Myeni, Brent Sylvester and Garrick Orosco, who was seriously injured, were cleared of wrongdoing in June 2021 by Alm’s office, which declined to pursue charges against them. 

The officers had responded to the scene of an alleged unlawful entry call in April after Lindani mistakenly entered a house which was an Airbnb where an Asian couple was staying. Lindani, who was a tourist on vacation with his wife and 2 children, believed it to be the temple next door.

When he entered he alarmed the couple. A doorbell video shows the 29-year-old arriving at the house, taking off his shoes before entering through an open door and then quickly leaving after his presence confused the Asian couple. In the video Myeni is heard repeatedly apologizing to them as he exited. The couple frantically overreacted and called 911 and during an emotional call reported him as dangerous and claimed to be terrified. 

Due to the fact that the door was open and there was no signage indicating “no trespass” to the public, said entry most likely was not unlawful - despite being unwanted. in other words, Lindani did not commit a crime. Additionally, the couple gave inconsistent stories about what happened - and definitely did not appear to be “terrified” on the video. [MORE]

Police responding to the 911 call immediately approached and then shot and killed him a short time later outside the house. 

The video reveals the fact that cops never announced themselves in a very dark area at night as they shined a bright light into the Black man’s face. As the cops quickly ran up on him and put their hands on him he defended himself.

A lawsuit filed on his behalf said he likely mistook the home for a temple next door that’s open to the public. Unarmed, the Black man from South Africa was wearing a traditional Zulu headband with a tuft of fur at the forehead.

Doorbell and police bodycam camera footage had shown Myeni ignoring commands to get on the ground. The camera then shows a stun gun fired by police either malfunctioning or having no effect on Myeni.  

Most importantly the video also shows that an officer fired several gunshots at Myeni before identifying themselves as 'Police!' 

In this matter the cops were the aggressors who initiated a violent assault in the dark on a Black man without announcing themselves. The Black Man was unarmed and apparently trying to get away from his unknown assailants. Thus, deadly force, which was already unavailable to them because they were the aggressors, could not have been applied because the cops were not facing an imminent, deadly attack from an unarmed Black man defending himself against their aggression and trying to flee. [MORE]

Council members said they wanted time to review evidence and ask more questions of the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office in closed-door sessions of the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee. The matter will be taken up again at the council’s next meeting in November. If the settlement is not approved, the case will go to civil trial next year, said James Bickerton, a lawyer for Myeni’s widow.

Lindsay Myeni, who filed the lawsuit in 2021, testified tearfully in support of the settlement and held up her husband’s bloodied shirt with bullet holes that he had been wearing that night. 

Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm, Jonathan Frye, Honolulu chapter chair of the state’s police union and police Chief Joe Logan - all government authorities - encouraged council members to vote against the settlement and said they felt the police did nothing wrong. 

Bickerton also objected to the presence of so many armed officers in the City Council chambers during testimony. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said later in a telephone interview. “It’s literally a show of force. It has no place in a democracy. If you want to come down and testify in a civil matter, leave your guns back in the station.”