Two people were arrested on the Big Island today after a man rammed two police vehicles with a suspected stolen car.
According to a Hawaii Police Department release, two Puna patrol officers conducting traffic enforcement on Orchidland Drive spotted a suspicious vehicle at a gas station at 10:20 a.m.
The Honda sedan sitting in the gas station’s pump lane was spray-painted black with a broken windshield. The car did not have a front license plate and its safety check and weight tax were expired.
Police positioned their cars in front of and behind the Honda to further investigate what they believed to be a stolen vehicle incident.
As the officers conducted an inspection of the car, a 23-year-old male later identified as Kade Kapika-Overturf ran out of the gas station’s convenience store and entered the vehicle. The suspect aggressively moved the vehicle forward and backward between the blocking police cars.
Flanking both sides of the car, officers ordered Kapika-Overturf to stop, which he did for a moment before accelerating into the front passenger quarter panel of the first police vehicle.
The officer positioned on the Honda’s passenger side used his baton to break its front window, while the second officer opened the rear driver’s side door. Kapika-Overturf put the Honda into reverse, hitting the second officer with the open door and ramming into the second police vehicle.
The officer who was struck managed to recover and entered the Honda’s rear seat, where a 26-year-old woman was hiding.
The first officer, who remained on the passenger side of the Honda, discharged his stun gun at Kapika-Overturf. The man ripped the weapon’s wires, necessitating a second deployment.
Both suspects were removed from the car and placed under arrest.
No officers were injured in the incident.
Kapika-Overturf was charged for a probation revocation warrant and two counts of criminal property damage in the second degree. Police did not state whether the woman was charged with a crime.
As part of the ongoing investigation, police recovered 8.5 grams of a substance that tested presumptive for methamphetamine. Charges are pending.
Police discovered that the Honda’s VIN plates had been removed. Officers are not yet able to determine if the vehicle was reported stolen.
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