Lindani Myeni, a Zulu male from South Africa, moved to Hawaii earlier this year. His wife, Lindsay grew up in Hawaii, but she met him in South Africa when she was visiting as part of a church mission. They had 2 sons.
It was only a few months after moving to Hawaii when Lindani Myeni was shot & killed by Honolulu police. Initial reports claimed that the police were responding to a 911 call about a burglary and that Myeni attacked and injured 3 officers, and he didn't feel the effects of the taser.
People who knew Lindani Myeni had a different portrayal of him. He was seen as a gentle giant who had a great sense of humor. He had no criminal record. There are no reported incidents before this one.
Being that Myeni is African, there are assumptions that the police shooting is racially motivated. The identity of the officers still hasn't been made public.
It was in the same month when Honolulu police shot & killed a 16-year old Iremamber Sykap after a car chase. Sykap was Micronesian (more specifically, Chuukese), and this incident was seen as a sign of racism against Micronesians.
(note: Sykap and the other suspect involved in the case, Kealii Fernandez, were my former students when I used to be a substitute teacher. I blogged about it at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/04/former-students-and-tragedy-on-kalakaua.html )
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Myeni's wife mentioned that the last time she talked with him, he said he was going to take a short drive to a nearby interfaith temple.
It was night-time in a suburb-like community.
The building he went to look like the temple, was near the temple, but it was actually an Airbnb vacation rental.
Myeni didn't know that, he thought he was at the temple, which was open to the public.
However, the couple (Dexter & Sabine Wang) staying at the Airbnb vacation rental just saw him walk into the building they were staying in without permission. They didn't know who he was or what his real intentions were.
The security camera showed Myeni walking up to the building, and was told that this wasn't the temple, left and apologized.
The couple was visiting from New Jersey. They were Chinese immigrants for whom English was a new language. They didn't know there was an interfaith temple nearby. They didn't know who Myeni was.
Within that couple, Dexter was calm, but Sabine wasn't. She was very afraid and called 911. The panic in her voice was very obvious in the 911 call. She said there was a "break-in" (giving an impression somebody violently intruded the building), though to be fair, it's hard to come up with the right words under stress when speaking in a language you're still learning.
If she was calmer, she could've explained a stranger walked in & left, but that she's still worried because she doesn't know his true intentions.
The police arrived and asked the woman "where he went?" and she pointed him out in a panicked voice.
The police then yelled to Myeni "GET ON THE GROUND".
Myeni walked up to the officer, asked "who are you" and punched the officer. Another officer, who just arrived when the fight started rushed in, yelled "TASER", tased Myeni, who didn't even fall, he lunged at him instead.
Shots were fired. After that, one of the cops yelled: "POLICE" (yeah, kinda late for that).
There are many ways to analyze all this.
It was night-time, a time of limited visibility. The 1st officer was wearing a dark uniform and shined a blinding light at Myeni. He didn't announce that he was a police officer. He just yelled "GET ON THE GROUND"
It is possible that Myeni thought he was getting robbed by street criminals. That could be why he chose to attack in what he thought was self-defense. Lord knows what could happen to you if just lie on the ground in a robbery.
It is possible that the police officer could've de-escalated the situation by calmly approaching Myeni by saying "sir, this is the police, we need to talk with you".
Whether that might've worked, we will never know. But at least it could've given Myeni a chance to respond in a calm manner. Myeni might've explained the situation, that he was lost and went to the wrong building.
But given the reality that Myeni attacked the officers, I don't think the officers will get convicted in this case.
Some will claim it's a racial thing. But I think that if someone who looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger lunged at the cops, I don't think the cops would be like "he's a white guy, we'll just let him beat the crap out of us".
I'm not sure if pepper spray is an option. You need some distance but not too much distance. But if used effectively, it could've temporarily stopped Myeni without killing him. He might still file a lawsuit over being sprayed, but even that is preferable over his family filing a suit for shooting & killing.
If Myeni had decided to fight the issue in court instead of on the streets, he would probably be alive today. Traumatized, but alive!
To those that knew Lindani Myeni, he was a nice, loving person.
However, the couple at the Airbnb rental wouldn't know that. They just saw a stranger walking in without permission.
The police wouldn't know that, since they heard a report of burglary and thought someone was in danger. And they sure wouldn't know that when Myeni lunged at them.
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And the sad thing about is that Myeni children will live with the trauma that their father was killed.
And that all this started because someone was lost and went to the wrong building by accident due to the limited visibility of night.
And so much bad things happened due to panic. Fear of a stranger. A cop whose first instinct is to yell orders instead of using a calm approach.
There are no easy answers to any of this. I don't even know if there are right answers.
Admittedly, all of this is based on limited information.
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