A Kaʻu man died Monday while in police custody after police responded to a report of a shooting.
A Kaʻu man died Monday while in police custody after police responded to a report of a shooting.
The man been identified as 46-year-old Jonathan Watson, of Ocean View, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
At 9:51 a.m. Monday, police received a 9-1-1 call from a man who said he had been shot. When officers arrived at a home on the 92-2600 block of Hukilau Drive in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision, a man with a bandage on his left leg came out of the house in an aggressive manner and began fighting with the officers.
Officers subsequently took him into custody, police said.
While some of the officers went into the house to check for possible suspects or victims, police say Watson tried to kick the officers who were with him. He then “became unresponsive,” police said in a statement.
Police attempted CPR until Hawaii Fire Department personnel arrived a few minutes later and took over unsuccessful efforts to revive him. Watson was later taken to Kona Community Hospital, where he was officially pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m.
Police have requested an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. The case is classified as a coroner’s inquest.
As is standard practice when someone dies while in police custody, the Police Department’s Area II Criminal Investigations Section will conduct an investigation into the death and the circumstances leading to it, and the Office of Professional Standards will conduct an administrative investigation.