3 Honolulu Cops Charged in Killing of 16-Year-Old

Iremamber Skyap was shot during Honolulu car chase
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 16, 2021 2:12 PM CDT
3 Honolulu Cops Charged in Killing of 16-Year-Old
In this April 28, 2021, photo, floral bouquets, deflated balloons, candles, and other items decorate a street memorial by the Kalakaua Canal where Honolulu Police shot and killed 16-year-old Iremamber Sykap.   (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, File)

A policeman has been charged with murder and two officers charged with attempted murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy, Honolulu prosecutors said Tuesday. The charges come after a grand jury last week declined to indict the same three officers in the shooting that killed Iremamber Sykap on April 5, the AP reports. Geoffrey Thom was charged with one count of murder in the second degree. Zackary Ah Nee and Christopher Fredeluces were each charged with one count of attempted murder in the second degree. Interim Honolulu Police Department Chief Rade Vanic said he was surprised by the prosecutor's decision to seek charges after the grand jury decided not to indict. "This is highly unusual, and we are not aware of a similar action having been taken in the past," he said.

Police have said Iremamber was driving a stolen Honda linked to an armed robbery, burglary, purse snatching, and car theft and led officers on a chase before the shooting. Deputy Prosecutor Christopher Van Marter said in court documents that Thom fired 10 rounds into the rear window of the Honda "without provocation." Eight of the shots hit Iremamber in the back of the head, back of the neck, upper back, and left arm. Iremamber was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital. Fredeluces fired one shot but did not hit Iremamber, he said. Van Marter said that while Thom claimed the Honda rammed into his patrol car, body camera footage didn't show that. Thom's patrol car sustained "a few minor paint chips and some black scuffmarks," Van Marter said. He said Ah Nee fired multiple times at Mark Sykap, Iremamber's brother, who was also in the car.

(More Hawaii stories.)

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