HONOLULU (KHON2) — A civil jury has reached a verdict over a deadly deputy-involved shooting at the State Capitol in 2019.
The family of Delmar Espejo sued the State of Hawaii and the sheriff who shot him on Feb. 18, 2019, for Espejo’s wrongful death and the use of excessive force.
The incident happened shortly before 8:30 p.m. when “the officer involved in the shooting had called for backup [after seeing] a man with alcohol at the Capitol.”
In a complaint provided by Ralph Fukamoto, former Sheriff’s Sergeant, he noted no one was available to provide backup to the officer when the struggle occurred.
Court documents said the 28-year-old placed the sheriff in a headlock. The sheriff then shot him in the torso “in fear of additional imminent danger.”
The Honolulu Medical Examiner ruled Espejo’s death a homicide on June 30, 2019.
The trial began on Nov. 21 and after nearly four days of testimony, a Honolulu jury found that the sheriff was negligent and that the state did not train him properly.
In a statement, the Department of the Attorney General said they thank the jurors for their service and that “numerous errors were made that affected the fairness of the trial. [They] are considering [their] options.”
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Espejo’s family was awarded $2.2 million.