The Honolulu prosecuting attorney has cleared a police officer of wrongdoing after the shooting death of a Kalihi man in June.
Christian Javan Latimore, 37, a mechanic and Army veteran, was living out of a boat docked at Ke‘ehi Boat Harbor. Early on June 22, he began shooting at another boat using an air rifle and, when the owner of that boat confronted him, Latimore struck him in the face.
When police responded to the scene, Latimore’s behavior became erratic. According to police reports, Latimore claimed he thought the responding officers were pirates, that police officers weren’t allowed on the dock, that he was a Secret Service agent and more.
After an officer failed to subdue Latimore with a Taser, Latimore grabbed a hammer, swinging it at officers, before barricading himself in his boat. So began an hours-long standoff, with SWAT teams surrounding the pier and repeatedly attempting to negotiate Latimore’s surrender.
Latimore was uncooperative and continued to brandish his air rifle. Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said Wednesday that the specific model of air rifle Latimore used is visually very similar to a model of shotgun, and was virtually indistinguishable from a lethal weapon at a distance.
During one of these exchanges, at about 12:51 p.m., Latimore briefly pointed his air rifle at one of the groups of officers on the pier, leading an HPD marksman to shoot at him once. It was the only conventional bullet fired in the entire incident, which ripped through Latimore’s right cheek and exited through his left.
Despite this injury, Latimore refused to leave his boat for medical treatment and continued to resist arrest for nearly another hour; officers were only able to subdue him by using a Taser again and shooting him thrice with “less-lethal” rounds — spongy projectiles intended to wind or stun targets.
Even after being restrained, police reported Latimore kept fighting officers attempting to move him to a gurney. He was finally brought to the Queen’s Medical Center emergency room at about 2:18 p.m., more than an hour after he was shot. He was pronounced dead six minutes later.
Medical examiners found the cause of Latimore’s death to be blood loss from the wounds in his cheeks, exacerbated by partial asphyxia: the injuries caused Latimore’s throat to swell, preventing him from breathing properly.
According to an incident report, an emergency room doctor — whose name in the report was redacted — later told HPD that Latimore might have survived his injury if he had received immediate medical attention.
“But I can never be sure about it because unanticipated complications such as infection can happen,” said the doctor in the report. “Both [the bleeding and asphyxia] did not appear immediately life-threatening, and that was the reason why he was able to survive for about one hour.”
Examiners also found traces of methamphetamine in Latimore’s system.
Alm said the incident seemed, yet again, to be a case of “suicide by cop.” He said Latimore, as an Army veteran, would have known his air rifle looked like a lethal weapon before he pointed it at an officer.
Moreover, Alm said that during the standoff, Latimore seemingly attempted to slash his own throat with a katana, albeit without success.
Having determined that the use of deadly force in Latimore’s case was justified, the officer who shot him — an HPD corporal with 20 years of service with the department — will face no charges.
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