MAUI POLICE KILL SUSPECT

The Man Hits Three Officers With His Car As He Flees During A Drug Search

MAKAWAO, Maui) A 38-year-old Maui man died from gunshot wounds
yesterday after his fleeing car struck three police officers who
fired at him. The gunfire rocked this tiny Upcountry community.

The police officers were executing a narcotics search warrant at a
residence at 241 Hoomaha Road at 6 a.m., when a suspect driving a car
hit the three officers, said Lt. Wallace Tom. The officers drew their
weapons and fired, he said.

Police later found the car and the suspect in a residential area on
Hoopono Place, about two miles mauka of Hoomaha Road, Tom said.

An autopsy revealed that the man died from internal bleeding caused
by a gunshot wound.

Several friends and relatives identified the dead man as George
Brittain. They said he wasn't the type who harmed people but they
acknowledged he had been struggling with an addiction to crystal
methamphetamine.

They laid flowers and lit a candle at the entrance of Hoopono Place,
where his body and the vehicle were found yesterday morning.

"This is an unfortunate incident," said a friend, who declined to be
identified. "I feel sad for the police too."

Neighbors expressed surprise at the shooting in the quiet, rural
neighborhood lined with two-acre lots.

Kimiko Takamiya, a Hoomaha Road resident, said she first noticed
something was happening when she saw an area taped off as she left
for work about 8:30 a.m. She said the house was a rental and she
didn't know the current renters.

"Every time I pass the place, I see young people and older trucks,"
she said. "People come and go around there."

Hoomanu Road resident Harry Cambra said, "I was pretty shocked."

Some of Brittain's family acknowledged his drug problem, but said
police went too far.

Harold Brittain said his nephew fell into drugs in the past and had
been involved in a prior police chase. "But I don't know why they had
to shoot him," he said.

Another relative of Brittain's, who asked not to identified, said he
cared for his friends and characterized him as generous. "I can't
imagine being without him," she said. "He made some bad decisions. We all do."

Tom said a juvenile girl who was in the vehicle was questioned by
police and was being sent to a detention facility for youths on Oahu.

He said the three officers were treated at and released from Maui
Memorial Medical Center.

Tom said an investigation was continuing into whether police found
any drugs at the Hoomaha Road residence.

As part of standard procedures whenever police fire their weapons and
a death occurs, an internal investigation is conducted, he said.

One of Brittain's friends said he was driving in the direction of his
parents' home.

The roads leading to Hoomaha Road and Hoopono Place were blocked by
Maui police for most of yesterday.

Brittain had 10 convictions dating to 1997. He had convictions for
weapons charges, driving a stolen vehicle, theft and several warrants.

Another friend said Brittain had worked as a security guard, but she
did not know whether he had still been working.

She said she thought Brittain had been getting better, but that he
had been associating with the wrong people and was at the wrong place
at the wrong time.

"When they're doing ice (crystal meth), that's not them, that's not
what they're about. That's what they're doing," she said.