Officer Samson Kalohelani Paele, Sr.

Samson Kalohelani Paele, Sr.

Officer Samson Paele was killed, and his wife was wounded, after being shot at their home in Wahiawa by a man he had arrested earlier in the evening.

He had stopped the man for driving recklessly and discovered he was drunk. Because the man was known to him and the distance to the jail, he let the man return home with a promise that he would come to court the following morning. Officer Paele went home after his shift. He and his wife were leaving the home around 7:30 p.m., when the subject and the subject's wife approached them. The man opened fire, killing Officer Paele and wounding his wife.

The 46-year-old man then shot himself in an attempt to commit suicide. His suicide attempt left him paralyzed from the waist down. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years to life.

Officer Paele was a United States Army WWI veteran and had served with the Honolulu Police Department for six years. He was survived by his wife and son.