A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed against the City and County of Honolulu by the family of a 26-year-old Waianae man who was fatally shot by police in 2019.
The agreement was reached Thursday, according to court records, and is pending approval by the City Council.
The suit was filed by the family of Kyle Thomas, who was shot in his car after leaving a Walmart in Mililani with his girlfriend on Feb. 20, 2019.
Then-Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said at the time that Thomas was a shoplifting suspect, and he ignored officers’ commands as they approached his vehicle. Instead of getting out, he drove toward them and they fired, she told reporters.
But the lawsuit says the two officers, Chance Correa and Ronald Dumlao, were in plainclothes and did not announce themselves as police when they approached. Thomas, his girlfriend and another friend who was in the car put their hands in the air before one of the officers smashed the driver’s side window and shot Thomas, the suit said.
The car was “at a complete stop” and posed no threat to the officers, the suit said.
After Thomas was shot, his friend bent down to put pressure on Thomas’s leg, causing his foot to press down on the gas pedal. The car then accelerated before hitting a tree on the other side of the street, the suit said.
The suit accuses the officers of using excessive and unreasonable force and also claimed the Honolulu Police Department has a “pattern” of retaining police officers who have engaged in misconduct. Correa was fired in 2005 after he was involved in a car crash while off duty and was accused of fleeing the scene. He was later reinstated after his termination was converted to a six-month suspension.
In 2021, the Hawaii Law Enforcement Officer Independent Review Board ruled that Dumlao and Correa were justified in shooting Thomas and recommended that the officers not be prosecuted.
Dumlao is still employed as a police officer and Correa is a sergeant, according to Civil Beat’s salary database.
Eric Seitz, who is representing Thomas’s family, said he could not share details about the settlement until it is approved by the City Council.
Scott Humber, spokesman for the City and County of Honolulu, said in a statement that the city does not comment on settlements before they are finalized. He said the matter has not yet been scheduled for consideration at a City Council meeting.
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