HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nearly a year after a police-involved shooting left a 44-year-old suspect dead, Prosecutor Steve Alm announced Wednesday that the use of deadly force was justified.

Alm said there would be no criminal charges against a Honolulu police sergeant and six officers involved in the shooting near the intersection of University Avenue and Dole Street, where police fatally shot suspect Sidney Tafokitau.

“It certainly looks to me like a cop suicide when he gets out of his Scion, he has his AR-15, and he’s shooting at all these police cars and police officers ” said Alm.

At a news conference Wednesday, Alm described several heartbreaking moments.

The incident occurred on January 1 on University Avenue, when officers shot and killed Sidney Tafokitau, who led police on an intense manhunt earlier in the day.

Two police officers were shot and injured and another man was injured by a police vehicle.

Police said it all started when Tafokitau opened fire on his ex-girlfriend. She was seriously injured and Tafokitau fled, sparking the island-wide chase.

During the day, Tafokitau fired on police at least four times in communities across the island. He also carjacked a victim on Windward Oahu at gunpoint and attempted to shoot down a helicopter with an AR-15 rifle near Laniakea Beach on the North Shore.

“There are three distinct flashes coming from the Scion and they realize it’s shooting at them and trying to shoot down the helicopter,” Alm said.

Alm says Tafokitau, a convicted felon, died from 23 gunshot wounds and tested positive for cocaine and alcohol.

“He told a relative that he would not return to prison. He attempted to kill several police officers and seriously injured two. The police did their job that day and behaved with professionalism and courage,” Alm said.

Alm also reviewed Tafokitau’s lengthy criminal record, including 14 felony convictions dating back to 1993. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and expired his sentence in March 2022, just two years before the shooting.

Meanwhile, there is still a federal lawsuit filed by a man who believes police mistook him for Tafokitau that day because he is Tongan.

Tevita Cadiente, 25, says he was slammed against a fence near UH by a police van, then beaten and seriously injured while officers held his father on the ground.

Alm said police have completed their investigation into that part of the case, but he did not want to answer specific questions since the prosecutor’s office is currently looking into the matter.

The father and son’s attorney said a trial is scheduled in federal court in March 2026.

As for why the Tafokitau investigation took so long, Alm says more than 60 cases of assault on police officers have been referred to the prosecutor’s office by HPD, so there is a lot to investigate.

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