Community mourns slain police officer, manhunt continues
SUSPECT STILL AT LARGE AFTER REPORTEDLY ESCAPING INTO THE WOODS AFTER TUESDAY SHOOTING
Waiki SEE SHOOTING PAGE 7A
KAILUA-KONA — These days, Christian K.
doesn’t let his past define him.
“I’m a lot more than just a person in recovery,” he
said. “I don’t really consider myself ‘recovered’ or
‘recovery,’ just I had my issues in life that I worked
out.”
Christian used opioids and other drugs for about
three years after a plastic surgeon prescribed him
oxycodone following a severe hand injury at the
beginning of 2014. In the middle of 2015, months
after he had gone to rehab, Christian broke both
bones in his arm in a car wreck in Colorado, after
which an orthopedic surgeon prescribed him oxycodone
again, along with morphine, which is an opiate,
and Valium, known generically as diazepam, which is
a benzodiazepine.
From there, Christian went to several pain doctors
and pain clinics to get his prescriptions for pain
relievers filled. He was also in and out of rehab,
including a couple weeks in California in 2015 that
culminated with him overdosing on Xanax, Ativan
and heroin at the Los Angeles International Airport
before being revived in an ambulance with naloxone.
In early 2016, Christian was in and out of Hawaii
Island Recovery three times during a term of about
six months before returning again to Colorado,
where, he said, “things didn’t change.”
Not long after, he said, his parents, while still paying
his bills, stopped talking to him.
BY JOHN BURNETT
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — Condolences to the
family of fallen Puna patrol
Officer Bronson Kaimana
Kaliloa poured in Wednesday
as word spread that the 10-year
Hawaii Police Department veteran
was shot and killed Tuesday
night, allegedly by a man wanted
on an arrest warrant.
Meanwhile, the manhunt for
the suspect, 33-year-old Justin
Joshua Waiki, who reportedly
escaped on foot
into the woods
off Highway 11 in
Mountain View
after allegedly
firing the shots
that felled the
officer, continued
as of press
time Wednesday.
Police said they formed a
task force “that will be operating
24-hours a day, relentlessly
following up on tips and information
regarding the whereabouts
of (the) fugitive,” and the
FBI announced it is offering a
$10,000 reward for information
leading Waiki’s arrest.
“It is with a heavy heart that I
extend my sincere condolences
to Officer Bronson K. Kaliloa’s
family, his loved ones and his
colleagues,” Gov. David Ige said
in a statement. “… As we mourn
this tragic loss, let us honor
Officer Kaliloa and all men and
women in blue for their bravery
and commitment to keeping
our families and communities
safe.”
The family of 46-year-old
Kaliloa, a Kauai native and
1990 alumnus of Waimea
High School, released a brief
text-message statement saying
the officer “loved the Lord with
all his heart.”
“He was a proud father of
three, ages 7, 4 and 3, an adoring
and loving husband and
devoted son,” the family said.
“Passionate about serving his
Lord and community, he was
always making sure people felt
loved and respected.”
Police say Kaliloa and other
officers, acting on a tip, had
found Waiki’s vehicle by the side
of the road on Highway 11 near
Kukui Camp Road at about 9:47
p.m. Tuesday. Waiki got out of
the front seat and fired what
they think was a handgun, striking
Kaliloa in the neck and leg.
Kaliloa was taken by ambulance
to the Hilo Medical Center
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and underwent surgery, but was
pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m.
Wednesday.
An emotional Chief Paul
Ferreira met the news media
Wednesday and said it was “the
worst day of my 36-year career.”
“This was an officer, this was
a father, a son and a husband.
Put a face to the name,” Ferreira
said while pointing to a projected
image of Kaliloa holding
a plaque he was awarded as
Puna’s 2014 Officer of the Year.
Ferreira said Waiki, whose
last known address was in Las
Vegas, was being sought on a
no-bail warrant for revocation
of his bail conditions.
“He has 37 prior arrests for
various offenses, which included
16 convictions. Three of those
During an interview with West Hawaii Today, Christian K. talks
SEE OPIOIDS PAGE 6A about his experience with opioid addiction. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST
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HI 87 LO 76 WEATHER, PAGE 7A
VOL. 50, NO. 200 22 PAGES
What is a
‘safe distance?’
FINDING SAFE LAVAVIEWING
SITE PROVES
CHALLENGING
BY TOM CALLIS
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — Hawaii County officials say
the “lava bomb” that fell through the
roof of a tour boat Monday and injured
23 people highlights the hazards posed
by the ongoing eruption.
While finding a safe spot for a lava
viewing area on land remains challenging,
they say they have not given up on
the effort.
“From my standpoint, it just points
again to the safety factors that need to
be factored in,” said Diane Ley, county
Research and Development director.
Ley, who is overseeing the effort to
find a safe viewing site for the public,
said the county has looked at six sites
so far, but none have met the criteria of
safety and accessibility.
“This is extreme,” she said, of the
eruption, which geologists say is larger
than any on Kilauea’s lower East Rift
Zone in the past 200 years, “and we
need to be respectful of that. People can
get hurt. We saw that (Monday).”
Pahoa merchants say a viewing area
would bring much-needed tourists
back to the town. Business owners say
they have seen a sharp drop in customers
since the eruption started May 3 in
Leilani Estates.
Currently, people can only see the
eruption by air or sea unless they live in
the affected area.
Mayor Harry Kim told KHON that a
site could be selected in days or weeks.
Ley said she doesn’t have a timeline
but that the county continues to be
approached by private property owners
who are interested in offering their
land. Use of private property might
require a use permit, she noted.
Hawaii Police Department
Photo Officer Bronson K.
Kaliloa displays the plaque
he was awarded for being
named Puna Officer of the
Year in 2014.
SEE LAVA PAGE 7A
LIGHT AT THE END
OF THE TUNNEL
MAJOR COMPONENTS NEED TO BE ADDED, ATTITUDES SHIFTED,
AS THE FIGHT AGAINST OPIOID MISUSE MARCHES ON
BY CAMERON MICULKA
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com
Editor’s note: This five-day series by West Hawaii Today focuses on opioid addiction on Hawaii Island. It began with how a
heroin overdose played a vital role in the shuttering of a well-know Kailua-Kona homeless camp and finishes on what more needs
to be done to fight painkiller abuse. Eye-opening stats will be presented along the way: Hawaii County’s prescription rate doubles
every other county in the state, while a vast majority of overdose calls are in homes and condos, not in homeless sites.
Day 5: Coming out the other side: More is needed in the fight, but recovery story proof it works
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