Trial opens for Maui man accused of killing police officer

Sep 23, 2026

A murder trial has begun on Maui for the man accused of shooting and killing a police officer, with both sides offering sharply different accounts of that night.

  • Clembert Alii Kaneholani, 39, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Maui police officer Suzanne O in Paia last year.
  • Prosecutors opened with a jailhouse phone call they say captures him bragging about the shooting.
  • The state says he wanted revenge after police served him a restraining order, took his son, and removed him from his Makawao home.
  • His defense counters that officers never announced themselves as they moved through the buildings and field that night.

Outlook: Testimony continues as the jury weighs whether the shooting was deliberate or a deadly mistake in the dark.

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