Killing of 29-year-old Black man by Honolulu police officers
On April 14, 2021, three officers from the Honolulu Police Department shot and killed 29-year-old Lindani Myeni fronting a home in Nuʻuanu, Honolulu County, Hawaii during an alleged burglary. Myeni was a Black South African who played professional rugby and had two young children. The shooting took place in a residence's driveway after apparent fighting with Honolulu police officers. All three police officers were injured, and one was hospitalized.
After the killing, Myeni's widow Lindsay Myeni filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Honolulu, while Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm decided not to prosecute any of the involved officers after an investigation by his office. Later autopsy results show he suffered from a degenerative brain disease often found in American football players and other athletes subjected to repeated head trauma, commonly known as Chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This finding could help explain Lindani Myeni's bizarre behavior during the incident.
Background.
Lindani Myeni was a Black South African man from the Zulu tribe, raised in the town of Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal, who played professional rugby and had two young children. He was married to Lindsay Myeni, who grew up in Hawaii. The couple met at a hotel in Durban, where Lindani was playing an away game of rugby and Lindsay had a layover during a worldwide Christian missionary trip. Their wedding was 18 months later, and they moved to the United States in January 2020 because of Lindsay's real estate career. Initially living in Tampa, Florida, the couple disliked the racial disparities there and did not feel safe as a mixed-race couple. They subsequently moved to Denver, where Lindani joined the Glendale Merlins while waiting for a work permit, but was arrested and released without charges while traveling with the Merlins in Austin, Texas, and was later stopped by police while walking to rugby practice in Denver. The couple moved to Hawaii as a result, arriving in February 2021 with their two children. Lindsay began work selling real estate, while Lindani was a stay-at-home dad.
According to Lindsay Myeni, the family were touring Oahu on April 14, 2021, the day Lindani Myeni was killed. Lindsay Myeni told "The New York Times" that while the family was driving home after visiting Hānaiakamalama, they stopped at a roadside stand selling wood carvings, and Lindani became fixated on a large carved fish hook which the carver told them was a source of spiritual protection. According to Lindsay, they did not purchase the hook because it was too expensive at $250, but Lindani continued to talk about it even after they arrived at home, saying that he felt a need for spiritual protection and that he wanted to go back and buy the hook. He felt uneasy and went for a drive alone to clear his head.
In Lindsay Myeni's interview with the city's Medical Examiner, disclosed by Alm's report, she said her husband didn't have known health problems. She denied any significant depression or suicidal ideations. However, she mentioned that Myeni was "excited and stressed" about several things, including "discovered who he thought was his father was his uncle, and who he thought was his uncle was his father." She said that would make Myeni potentially King; however, it was stressful for him to realize that his family had lied to him his entire life.
According to the report, Lindsay said Myeni and their children had a "spiritual day" on April 14, 2021, visiting various locations in Oahu, including Hānaiakamalama. In Laie, Myeni even baptized himself again in the ocean. Then, around 19:15 to 19:30, Myeni left for a drive to "clear his mind," and she spoke to him at 19:52, and he was "on his way home." The Medical Examiner noted that she didn't comment why Myeni may have been at the residence, only stating he was "5 blocks away from home".
Earlier encounter with police.
According to Alm's investigation, about 20 minutes before the shooting, Myeni approached the scene of an unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, talking to several investigating police officers and the victim. The victim told Myeni to go away. He asked one of the officers for money for food and wanted to get in the back seat of a police car. Myeni told another officer that he needed help contacting someone but then realized that he had his own phone. Myeni then drove in his car to a nearby house and followed a couple inside. Alm commented that "several of (Myeni’s) statements and actions were strange, even bizarre”.
Honolulu Police Department (HPD) released the police bodycam regarding this encounter on October 12, 2021, as described by Hawaii News Now. The body camera video starts with an officer who just arrived on the scene about 7:40 p.m. He was startled because Myeni tried to get into the patrol car. Myeni said to that officer, "I was walking this way, and I thought I should get in. I thought wrong. I'm sorry." The officer asked him to get away from the car. Myeni walked up to the officer again after the officer left the police vehicle. Officer asked, "Can I help you? ", Myeni replied "I was driven by a car and got me here," The officer then told Myeni to stay 6 feet and wear a face mask. Myeni went to his car to retrieve a face mask and returned to the officer said, "I need to find a boat or some way to meet people." He said he was looking for someone, but HPD bleeped out the details of this person. The officer seemed confused and asked Myeni if he could call that person. Myeni then got his phone and started calling as he left. Then, Myeni drove up and engaged the officer again, "Bye. Thank you," he said, the officer waved back and said, "OK, thank you." The officer made a report about the encounter.
The attorney for Myeni's family, James Bickerton, declined to comment. He said he was waiting for HPD to turn over the unredacted video. During an earlier press conference reported by Star Advertiser, Bickerton dismissed the idea that Myeni may have been in an altered state of mind — including suggestions that he was suffering from mental health issues or had taken drugs that night. Bickerton said there was no “sign of any disturbance or acting strange.” 
Shooting.
At 8:09p.m. on April 14, 2021, a person in Nuʻuanu called the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) to say that someone was entering the caller's house. The call lasted nine minutes and 47 seconds. Five minutes into the call, at which point Myeni seems to have left the house, three HPD police officers arrived. They approached him in the dark driveway and ordered him to get on the ground, and he subsequently attacked them while asking twice who they were. The police deployed a Taser. As Myeni continued to fight, they shot and killed him. One of the officers was hospitalized after he sustained facial fractures, a concussion, and bodily injuries. Another officer sustained multiple bodily injuries, and the third sustained a concussion and multiple abrasions to his body.
Honolulu Police Department statement.
The day after the killing, Chief of Police Susan Ballard told the press that officers responded to a reported burglary. Myeni had exhibited "erratic and odd behavior" inside the residence before assaulting three police officers outside. When the first officer arrived and ordered Myeni to get on the ground, she said Myeni charged at him, punching him several times. Another officer tried to intervene, and the third officer tried non-lethal force first, deployed a Taser, which didn't stop him. The first officer fired a single round, but Myeni "continued and straddled" another officer, and that's when "Officer two" fired three rounds. She added that all three officers had been sent to the hospital and that the officers' shooting of Myeni was justified because "(Myeni) seriously injured the officers and their lives were in jeopardy." The department released a recording of the 911 call to the press, along with footage from police body cameras at the scene.
Two days after the killing, Acting Deputy Chief Allan Nagata said that the three involved officers "were very brave and they fought for their lives," adding that the shooting "was not a case of overreaction."
Wrongful death lawsuit.
On April 21, 2021, Lindsay Myeni filed a wrongful death claim against the city. Her lawyer, James Bickerton, subsequently conducted depositions of witnesses, including the couple and the owner of the home. Bickerton was able to obtain more video footage with a subpoena as a result of the claim, including more body camera footage and a Ring video recording from the residence.
Subpoenaed Ring camera footage.
The redacted Ring camera footage, provided by Bickerton and described by "Honolulu Civil Beat", depicts two cars pulling up to the residence at about 8p.m. The couple walks into the house, and Lindani Myeni follows, wearing a face mask and a traditional Zulu headband called an umqhele. Myeni removes his shoes before entering the house, and is inside for about 40 seconds. He then backs out of the house while one of the couple who called 911 can be heard saying that someone has broken in. According to Bickerton, the caller said during their deposition that they were initially pretending to call the police but then decided to do so for real. Bickerton told "Civil Beat" that the Ring footage supports his theory that Myeni intended to enter the International Society for Krishna Consciousness temple adjacent to the property, saying that the Zulu headband he was wearing would be typical attire for a church or temple. Lindsay Myeni additionally said that she believed Myeni had intended to enter the Hare Krishna temple. While in an earlier interview with Hawaii News Now, Lindsay said she didn't know why Myeni was there but he wouldn’t burglarize.
Scot Brower, a lawyer representing the couple and the house owner, disputed the idea that Myeni was looking for a temple. He said the ring camera was motion-sensitive and only record when movements occurred outside the home's front door, in fact, Myeni was inside for several minutes, during which Myeni behaved strangely, walking down the hallway and rummaging through things in rooms, claimed to own the home, and said "I have a video on you. You know why I’m here." He acknowledged that there was no recording to support his claims. He said although English was not the couple's primary language, they are fluent in English. Brower additionally noted that the couple worried that they were targeted because of their ethnicity due to Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alm, Honolulu Prosecutor, said that no facts were supporting Myeni was looking for the temple. Alm elaborated "If in fact Mr. Myeni was looking for the temple, it would have taken him maybe a few seconds after getting into the house to realize oh, no temple, wrong place, turn around, leave." Alm additionally said that Myeni told the 911 caller “I have videos of you. You know why I’m here.” He then said he lived in the house, and a cat in the house was his. Alm said Myeni stayed inside for five minutes even though the 911 caller asked him to leave several times and told him they were calling the police. Alm said Myeni told the caller that he is not afraid of the police and he was on a hunt, on safari, which the couple interpreted as a threat and said that they were the hunted prey and he was the hunter.
In his documents for the press, Alm also enclosed a statement from the president of the Hare Krishna temple. The president claimed, "we do not know Mr. Myeni and have no information concerning him or the events of April 14. We are not aware that he has ever been to our temple or had any intention to come to our temple on April 14.". He stated that the temple was closed during the time of the incident.
911 call audio.
In audio from the 911 call as described by "Civil Beat", the caller tells Myeni to "please leave". Bickerton claims that the caller's spouse can be heard saying “we have no temple” in the background. The caller tells the dispatcher that Myeni identified himself as Lindani or Linden per New York Times, that he said he was