Dozens of Honolulu police officers showed up at a recent city council meeting to block a proposed $1.5 million payout to the widow of a “Zulu prince” shot dead by a cop.
Lindani Myeni, a member of the Zulu tribe and a descendant of the Zulu royal family, was fatally shot on April 14, 2021, after a struggle with police officers outside a holiday home in the city’s Nuuanu district, where he was accused of entering without permission entered. .
The 29-year-old’s widow, Lindsay, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the aftermath, arguing that police failed to identify themselves when they pointed a gun at Lindani and began shooting him that night.
The city and county of Honolulu’s corporate attorney has now reached an expensive settlement with Lindsay.
But prosecutors, police attorneys and even the mayor spoke out against approving the settlement at an Oct. 9 meeting, arguing that it should go to trial instead. according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.
Honolulu police officers flocked to an Oct. 9 city council hearing to voice their opposition to a settlement with the widow of Zulu Prince Lindani Myeni
Lindani Myeni, 29, was fatally shot on April 14, 2021 after a struggle with police officers outside a holiday home in the city’s Nuuanu district, which he accused of entering without permission
They were supported by police officers who turned up en masse for the hearing, which Myeni family lawyer James Bickerton decried.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he told Civil Beat.
‘It’s literally a show of power. It has no place in a democracy. If you want to come testify in a civil case, leave your weapons at the station.”
Those opposing the settlement claim Myeni became violent as soon as officers arrived on the scene after receiving a call claiming he had followed a woman into her home, taken off his shoes and exhibited “strange behavior.”
Police Chief Joe Logan testified at the hearing that only 15 seconds had passed from the time officers got there [when] they were attacked.
“That’s not enough time for CIT (Crisis Intervention Team), you know, de-escalation,” he said. “CIT would not have assisted in this matter and that is why I am confident that we stand behind our officers, their actions and what they did.”
Myeni’s widow, Lindsay, filed a wrongful death suit in the aftermath, arguing that police failed to identify themselves when they pointed a gun at him and started shooting him that night.
Dimly lit body camera footage of the shooting showed an officer telling Myeni, “Get on the ground now.”
When Myeni then walked towards the officer, a struggle ensued during which the officer filmed the altercation and appeared to be knocked to the ground.
A second clip from a third officer’s body camera showed Myeni fighting with the two other officers.
That third officer then deployed his Taser before a shot was fired. Three more will follow after that.
Near the end of the video, an officer shouts “police.”
Myeni was later taken to Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition, where he died from his injuries.
One officer was also hospitalized after the incident with serious facial injuries and a concussion, while the other two involved in the altercation also suffered injuries.
Two of the officers involved in the shooting, Brent Sylvester and Garrick Orosco, were cleared of wrongdoing in June by the local prosecutor’s office, which declined to file charges against them.
Prosecutor Steven Alm is now among those urging city council members not to approve the settlement.
He argued that Myeni was the aggressor and that officers tried less lethal methods, including deploying a Taser, to subdue him.
Honolulu police body camera footage shows three gunshots before an officer says “police.”
Myeni also punched one of the officers, causing multiple facial fractures, leaving the officer unable to work.
Alm also noted that Myeni, a former rugby player, suffered from stage three chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disorder common in people who have suffered repeated concussions or head trauma.
It can cause confusion, mood swings and aggression, he noted.
He further argued that the city would prevail in a civil trial because jurors had to be convinced that police acted improperly.
Jonathan Frye, president of the Honolulu chapter of the state’s police union, also argued that if the city approves the settlement, it would send a message to police that the city does not support them.
“If we reach a settlement, we’re sending a message to every officer that they really don’t matter, their lives don’t matter,” he argued.
“I would rather see this case lost in court.”
Even the local mayor spoke out against the settlement, saying, “I firmly and unequivocally stand with the police in this regard.
“I have been extensively briefed in a number of meetings about the evidence of the case, and I have ended up on that side and I want to make sure my voice is heard with regard to my position and office.”
Lindsay spoke out in support of the settlement while surrounded by officers, saying her husband, who was originally from South Africa and moved back to her home state with her, was a community leader.
But in a wrongful death suit Lindsay filed later that year, attorneys allege the officers did not tell Myeni they were law enforcement when they approached him.
They also shone high-intensity flashlights called Maglites in his face – blinding him, Civil Beat reports.
Myeni could not see at the time that he was being approached by officers and was merely trying to defend himself from unknown assailants.
‘Sir. Myeni had the right to defend herself,” attorney James Bickerton testified during the City Council hearing. “It escalated wildly and quickly, but there was no need and no reason to kill anyone unarmed.”
Bickerton said he initially asked for more than $5 million in damages for his client, but that he and the city worked with a mediator to reach a compromise.
The settlement, he argued, would bring closure to his client’s family and help the family of Myeni, who is now aged three and five.
“It buys peace, not only for the Myeni family, but also for the officers themselves,” he told councilors.
Myeni left behind two children, now aged three and five, who his family lawyer says will benefit from the settlement payment
He claimed that Myeni’s widow “wants, above all, healing and peace for all.
“I can tell you that this is a very high priority for her, not just for herself and her family, but for the city, for the officers, for the entire community,” he said. according to Hawaii News Now.
“The eyes of the world were on this case and continue to be.”
Lindsay also spoke out in support of the settlement as she was surrounded by officers. She said her husband, who was originally from South Africa and came with her to her home state, was a community leader who spoke five languages and studied engineering.
She held up his bullet-ridden clothes from the night of the shooting as she told the officers behind her that Myeni one day aspired to become a police officer herself.
“He was almost one of you,” she said.
“I wish you had just talked to him like a human and not exterminated him.”
Ultimately, the City Council decided to postpone a vote on whether to approve the settlement, with some expressing confusion over what they saw as a lack of communication between the city’s counsel, who negotiated the settlement, and the prosecutor’s office .
Most details of the case were discussed in closed-door meetings during meetings of the Executive Affairs and Legal Affairs committees, but no one from the prosecutor’s office presented to the committee or shared their findings from a 2021 report.
Council members said they need more time to review the evidence and ask more questions of the Honolulu District Attorney’s Office in a closed-door hearing.
The issue will then be put back on the agenda at the next council meeting in November.
If the settlement is not approved, the case will go to civil court next year.