KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii Police officers early Friday shot and killed a woman in Puna after she allegedly used a stolen vehicle to continuously ram into a police SUV.
She was identified Friday afternoon as 26-year-old Ashley Elisna Grammer of Hilo. Grammer at the time of the incident was reportedly being sought on two $50,000 bench warrants, according to police.
The incident occurred about 1 a.m. Friday when Puna patrol officers conducting routine beat checks on Beach Road in the area known as Honolulu landing came upon a 1998 Toyota 4-runner that was parked within a narrow dirt trail near the ocean, police said.
As officers were attempting to exit their vehicle, the 4-Runner suddenly reversed at a high rate of speed, ramming the front end of the police Chevy Tahoe and knocking one officer out of the vehicle. It then began moving back and forth creating force to violently ram the police vehicle numerous times, police said.
The suspect’s continuing course of action, police said, placed two officers who were then on foot and in close proximity in “great danger of being hit or run over,” police said. As the incident continued, three officers fired at and into the vehicle, the 26-year-old woman was struck and later died.
A 22-year-old woman who was a passenger in the 4-Runner was not injured in the incident, police said.
The suspect vehicle displayed fraudulent license plates and further investigation determined the vehicle had been reported stolen on Sunday. According to police, it had been taken from the parking lot of a business establishment in Hilo.
The three officers who fired on the vehicle have seven, three and less than one year of service with the department. None of the officers suffered physical injuries in the incident.
As is standard practice in any police-involved shooting, the Hawaii Police Department’s Area I Criminal Investigation Section is conducting a criminal investigation and the Office of Professional Standards is conducting an administrative investigation. The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave at this time.
Police ask anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Detective William Brown at 961-2384.