Police shoot man
driving stolen auto

It is the second police
shooting in three days

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Police say drug use may have contributed to the behavior of a man wounded yesterday by a patrol officer, in Oahu's second police shooting in three days.

"In my opinion, he did appear to be high on something," police Lt. Gregory Poole said.

Mark Harriman, 30, a felon with prior convictions that include drug offenses, was shot twice by a patrol officer in Kapahulu at 1:37 p.m. while fleeing from Brokaw Street in a stolen car.

Harriman was spotted about 30 minutes later by a television cameraman, who called police to report a man covered with blood running from an apartment building garage at 1650 Young St., near Times Super Market.

The wounded man went to Pawaa Gardens, an apartment complex at 1617 Young St., and reportedly called for an ambulance.

"We think he made the call because the caller requesting the ambulance said 'I have a gunshot wound,'" Poole said.

Police located Harriman in an ewa-side second-floor unit at Pawaa Gardens and found the damaged Dodge Stratus he was driving in the garage.

Harriman is in stable condition at Queen's Hospital, where 37-year-old Fortunato "Junior" Barques remains in critical condition after being shot twice in the back Tuesday by an officer in Pupukea.

In the Harriman shooting, "One round went through his left bicep and entered his chest while the other round hit his right thigh," Poole said.

Police found what appears to be crystal methamphetamine in the car Harriman drove. "It's more than user amounts," Poole said.

During a search of Barques' Chevrolet Blazer on Wednesday, police found marijuana in a small film container and possibly crystal methamphetamine.

"In the last two cases, the common denominator was the use of illicit drugs," Police Chief Lee Donohue said.

"It's dangerous, because with drug use you have paranoia and behavior becomes unpredictable."

Yesterday's incident began when police went to check on a complaint from a Brokaw Street resident.

"A lady saw a man sleeping in his car with the engine running at 10:30 a.m., but when she saw him still sleeping in the car with the engine on at 1 p.m., she called police," Poole said.

Two officers assigned to the East Honolulu District responded.

One officer, 34, parked his patrol car behind the Dodge while the other officer, 31, who was operating a three-wheel GO-4 vehicle, formerly called a Cushman, stopped in front.

When the second officer tapped on the window of the Dodge, Harriman awoke and allegedly backed the car into the patrol car, Poole said.

"He tried to whip out, and hit a pickup truck parked across the street, forcing its rear onto the sidewalk," Poole said.

Harriman allegedly backed up and then went forward toward the officer who had arrived in the GO-4.

The officer fired two shots at the driver before the Dodge sped away.

Police gave chase, but lost sight of the car on Kapiolani Boulevard.

"If you went to wake somebody up in a car and they start ramming cars around you, that's not normal behavior, but it's the kind of behavior we're dealing with on the streets," said Donohue.

Donohue said officers are trained to analyze what level of force is necessary and to make a split-second decision.

"We do not condone misuse of force," Donohue added. "But we train our officers to respond appropriately to whatever resistence they are meeting out there on the streets.

"The officers have to make their decisions, and if there's deadly force, they can meet that deadly force with deadly force."

Harriman will be arrested on a parole retake warrant when he is released from the hospital. Pending charges from yesterday's incident include first-degree attempted murder, criminal property damage and drug offenses.

In Tuesday's shooting at Puu O Mahuka Heiau, the officer told a supervisor that Barques was reaching for a gun when he fired, police said.

The officer said he was holding a can of Mace and his gun was holstered when he began following Barques up a private dirt road, ordering him to stop.

The officer drew his weapon when the wind blew open Barques' unbuttoned flannel shirt, revealing a shoulder holster.

Barques dropped a cellular telephone as he continued walking with his back toward the officer. When he saw Barques' arm move toward the holstered gun, the officer fired, police said.

According to police, someone could draw a weapon, turn and fire off a round in a split second in that situation.