Attorneys argue intent as man who shot police officer stands trial for first-degree murder

As Clembert Alii Kaneholani, 39, stands trial for first-degree murder in the Aug. 15, 2025, shooting death of Maui Police Officer Suzanne O, no one in Maui Circuit Court has argued that Kaneholani was not the shooter.

The prosecution wrapped up its case Wednesday, and the defense will have an opportunity to call witnesses today and present evidence related to Kaneholani's intent when the fatal shot was fired.

Kaneholani's attorney has described the shooting as an accident, prosecutor Andrew Martin has gathered witnesses trying to show the killing was a deliberate act.

At stake is whether Kaneholani is convicted of murder in the first degree -- a conviction that could put him in prison without parole.

Police body camera footage presented in court showed police arresting Kaneholani at the scene of the shooting saying he didn't mean to shoot Officer O.

However, Martin has called experts to the stand who testified that multiple pistols with semi-automatic magazines and bullets had been laid out near a concrete pillar where Kaneholani was crouched before the shooting.

A key piece of testimony came from police officer Mousa Kawas, who said he heard the racking sound of someone trying to reload a gun after firing the initial shot that killed Officer O.

Kawas testified that he returned fire and struck Kaneholani, who was shot in the hip and screamed out in pain before he was arrested.

"I told him not to move, not to reach for any firearm," Kawas told jurors.

Suzanne O described as a "caring officer"

MPD Officer Dylan McLellan-Pua'a said he had known officer Suzanne O for two to three years before she was killed. She was 37 years old and had been a police officer for five years.

"Officer O was a very caring officer," he told the jurors. "She was always straight-forward. She was always the one charging ahead."

Officer O was among the first at the scene at the old Paia Sugar Mill. Police were responding to a call about a man who was trespassing firing several shots at the property's caretaker, who had made the 911 call with his girlfriend.

In a recruiting video for the Maui Police Department, Officer O spoke of choosing to become a police officer to show young girls from American Samoa that women can pursue a range of career paths beyond the military.

Officer O recalled growing up in a village in American Samoa with her nieces and girls back home. American Samoa has among the highest rates of military enlistment in the United States.

"I wanted to show them there's more to life. It's not just the military. You can actually apply for something like this," she said. "You don't need a college degree, but it pays well. It does what it needs to do, right? It provides for your family, and it gives you some type of gratification that when you go home, you know you've helped someone."

Officer O was also commended for helping others in emergencies, and she received a certificate of merit for working to protect people and property during the Aug. 8, 2023, Lahaina wildfire.

Officer O was born on Jan. 12, 1988 in Pago Pago, American Samoa. She graduated from Farrington High School on Oahu in 2006 and attended Solano Community College in California and took classes in criminal justice studies at Chaminade University in Honolulu.

She was a part of the 91st Maui County Police Recruit Class and joined the police department in December 2020, serving in the Kihei Patrol and later in the Wailuku Patrol and was also a member of the MPD Honor Guard.

Hundreds gathered at a memorial service Aug. 29, 2025, at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Another memorial service was held Sept. 1 at the Valley of the Temples in Kaneohe where she was laid to rest.

Kaneholani has a prior felony

The 2025 fatal shooting was not Kaneholani's first brush with the law.

In 2015 on Kauai, a man befriended Kaneholani, who was unhoused, and took him fishing on a boat, according to a video of the previous court proceedings obtained by The Maui News.

The prosecution said Kaneholani stole a rifle in the boat belonging to the man.

Kaneholani pleaded no contest and was found guilty of second-degree theft. He was sentenced to a month in jail and placed on four years of probation.

Because he had served more than a month in jail, he was credited for time served and released shortly after the court hearing.

Did he brag about the shooting?

The prosecution has argued Kaneholani was aware he shot a Maui police officer and later bragged about it in jailhouse telephone conversations with family members.

"I thought I was going to get a buck. But I got a doe," Kaneholani said in one of the jailhouse conversations played to jurors Wednesday.

The prosecution alleges the motivation for the killing was prompted by a family conflict and Kaneholani's desire for revenge on police after a court order prevented him from having contact with his son.

Officers' body cam footage showed police serving Kaneholani with a temporary restraining order and being told he couldn't take his son with him at his home in Makawao on Aug. 13, two days before the shooting. Officer Ho'opani Yagi testified Kaneholani was agitated during the interaction.

Under cross-examination, Kaneholani's attorney Zachary Raidmae asked Yagi if Kaneholani eventually settled down after some time, and Yagi said that he did.

In other body cam footage taken after the shooting, Kaneholani told police he stumbled and the pistol went off. He also said the officers never identified themselves.

Search questioned

Raidmae raised questions about why drones weren't employed in searching for the suspect that night, rather than conducting a police sweep of the dark field. Raidmae also told the jury police did not announce their presence during the search.

Kawas testified there were several police officers who, like him, were establishing a perimeter to stop the shooter from escaping, and he said he was doubtful the shooter was still around.

"It didn't make sense to me that anyone would stick around," he said. "I wanted to see how real the threat was."

During the prosecution's questioning, Kawas said he learned the armed man was carrying two handguns, including a 9 mm pistol, and had fired shots near the feet of the caretaker.

The caretaker's girlfriend helped them walk along a path to where the armed man had last been seen near a shack.

Some police searched a warehouse while others walked a path near a gulch.

He said Officer O was behind him to his left on the path as they passed a pillar near a berm and he heard a pop and her scream.

In the courtroom, police cam recorders were played showing police trying to tend to her wound.

She wore a protective vest but the shot had entered the unprotected left side of her chest and then her heart, according to a medical expert.

Officer O's police cam was also offered into evidence, as well as more than a dozen other police cams.

In a cam video, police officers' voices implored Officer O to stay conscious: "Keep breathing O. Come on O, stay awake."

The trial is set to continue Thursday in Maui Circuit Court.