HONOLULU — A policeman has been charged with murder and two officers charged with attempted murder in 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.
Geoffrey H.L. Thom was charged with one count of murder in the second degree.
Zackary K. Ah Nee and Christopher Fredeluces were each charged with one count of attempted murder in the second degree.
Thom is a five year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department. Ah Nee and Fredeluces have served in the department for three and 10 years, respectively.
All three officers face up to life in prison without parole if convicted. A man who answered the phone at a number listed for Thom said he was not taking calls. Listed numbers for Ah Nee and Fredeluces could not immediately be found.
Police said Sykap 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. Medical records provided by an attorney representing Sykap’s mother and grandmother in a lawsuit say the teen was shot in the back of the head and shoulders.
Police have refused to release officer body camera footage from the shooting.
The Honolulu Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the charges.
Matt Dvonch, special counsel to Honolulu prosecutor Steve Alm, said it’s not unusual for prosecutors to ask a judge to find probable cause that a crime has likely been committed after a grand jury has declined to indict the person.
He said the prosecution wasn’t bringing any new evidence for the case that they didn’t have when the case went before the grand jury.
The three officers were scheduled to appear in court on June 25.
