Jan. 28—Violence that continues to threaten public safety along the Waianae Coast has strengthened the call for increased police presence and the resolve of residents in community grassroots efforts who want to see an end to shootings, stabbings and other serious crimes in West Oahu neighborhoods.

In the latest incidents, police on Thursday fired fatal shots at a man in Makaha who they say had been brandishing a knife. That came on the heels of an innocent bystander, 64-year-old Andrew Quisiquirin, being killed by a stray bullet amid gunfire Jan. 20 in a shooting that has sparked both anger and fear.

“That could have literally happened to anyone. It could happen to a kid, it could happen to anyone trying to see what’s happening outside on any road that it were to have happened on,” Crosse Crabbe, a member of the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board, said. “It’s scary to think about this starting to become a reality.”

According to the Honolulu Police Department’s Data Dashboard, there were 23 incidents of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in 2023. Of the 23 incidents, nine took place in District 8, which encompasses the west coast of Oahu and stretches from Ewa Beach to Kaena Point — the most of any district last year. Aggravated assaults totaled 252 in 2023, again the most of any district.

“I think we are all heartbroken for the loss of community members in the incidents that have taken place,” Rep. Cedric Asuega Gates (D, Waianae-Makaha) said. “I also think it has brought our community together to reflect, as we always try to do when we experience these situations, and see what we can do better.”

Lawmakers and community members for years have called continuously for an increased police presence on the Waianae Coast.

“Staffing shortages across the districts are nothing new, but the hard part about the staffing shortages in a district like mine is that there is active crime every day, and to the extent that it’s heinous crime as well,” Rep. Darius Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili) said. “For a district that has constantly had some uprise of crime, and especially the severity of the crime, it is of concern.”

Only eight police officers patrol all of District 8.

“I’ve been such a proponent that the West side knows how understaffed and underserved we are, that for the folks who are willing to break the law, it has only emboldened them to do so without repercussion,” Kila said.

“Everybody knows the timeframe of our officers,” Tiana Wilbur, a member of the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board, said. “Everybody’s aware of those challenges, and clearly, it’s taken advantage of.”

Legislators and law enforcement heads met on Oct. 30 to “identify the weaknesses within our system of governance on the West side,” Gates said.

One of the results of that discussion was finishing construction on a police station that has gone unfinished and relatively unused.

The $16 million police substation opened in Waianae in 2016.

In September, the City and County of Honolulu granted $300,000 in funding to HPD for “the planning and design of the second floor Waianae Police Substation interior,” according to a City memorandum.

“Money is being allocated, so things are moving, but there’s a disconnect on why this is delayed when we’re not asking for the moon and the stars here,” Nanakuli- Maili Neighborhood Board Chair Samantha DeCorte said. “The clock is ticking. Lives are on the line here.”

DeCorte said that she’s been working with the city towards “at least opening up the police station for processing.”

“This would allow for more blue lights in our streets, and that’s what we need, at least as a short term goal. I know that goal is more likely to happen sooner rather than later, as opposed to completing the entire police station overall,” DeCorte said.

Still, the lack of police officers poses another hurdle to overcome even if construction on the substation is completed.

“You want a police station, but you’re still not going to have enough police officers to manage (it), so we still have a problem,” Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board member Philip Ganaban said.

According to HPD’s website, there were 1,820 sworn officers and 464 civilian personnel in the department in March 2020. At a public town hall on West side crime last December, HPD Maj. Gail Beckley said that there were approximately 415 vacancies throughout the department.

“I think we really need to focus on growing our police force again,” Crabbe said. “If the issue right now is that we don’t have the police staffing, we’re just going to keep yelling at a wall. We can keep saying, ‘Oh, we need more staff,’ but if there’s no staff to allocate to our district or our beats, then that’s not going to do anything.”

DeCorte agrees.

“I understand we have a shortage,” DeCorte said, “but we have to start pulling from other districts. We are still trying, as a community, and we still are going at a grassroots level, but that’s not enough. We need help.”

Neighborhood watches

Both the Waianae Coast and Nanakuli-Maili neighborhood boards conduct neighborhood security watches with the intention of providing a more visible presence around the community.

“Our community is a very close, tight-knit community, so we really unify. We rally behind not only when these kinds of issues come up, but for positive things in our community too,” DeCorte said. “Our community has always been full force, especially when it comes to protecting our very own residents.”

In addition to the neighborhood watches, members of the Waianae Coast Neighborhood Board see more community engagement with youth as a necessary path forward.

“It’s more so our youth and younger adults that are engaged in these activities, but how are they encountering that? How can we engage our youth more positively so that they don’t find the need to go and search elsewhere?” Wilbur said. “There’s a lot of different organizations that are coming together and really putting our minds together to figure out, ‘How can we reconnect with our youth again?”

Ganaban said he thinks reaching out to youth and providing them opportunities for mentorship and community gathering will help to alleviate some of these issues.

“The community is coming together. The component is recognizing that we need open space gathering for the kids. We need community events. We need to have these kids who are getting into trouble, we need mentorship in those areas where they hang out,” Gana­ban said. “Let’s meet up. Let’s talk with them.”

“There’s just so many issues and we’re trying to tackle them one by one, but it all kind of ties together,” Wilbur said. “Definitely trying to unify (the) community and support one another, I think that’s the best solution that we can come up with.”

Latest incidents

The Jan. 20 shooting began after an argument inside a Waianae Longs Drugs store that continued in the parking lot, where the two groups entered their vehicles. One vehicle began following the other, when a male passenger from the second vehicle leaned out the window and fired multiple rounds at the first vehicle. Quisiquirin was standing near his driveway when he was shot and died at the scene.

Korey Farinas, 21, was arrested in connection with the incident Thursday on suspicion of manslaughter, first-degree attempted murder, three counts of second degree attempted murder and firearms offenses.

Quisiquirin is the second bystander to be struck by a stray bullet in Waianae, after Richianna Deguzman was shot in the head by a stray bullet last June. Deguzman was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting.

In the Thursday fatal police shooting, two officers responded to an aggravated assault report and “repeatedly instructed the male to get off the road,” HPD Chief Joe Logan said at a news conference. The man then brandished the knife, and the officers drew their department-issued firearms while instructing the man to drop the knife and get off the road. One of the officers deployed her Taser, and the man fell to the ground. He then got up and charged at the second officer, who fired his weapon and shot the man twice in the chest.

Efforts toward progress

Despite the instances in the Waianae Coast community that have illuminated a continued need for change, residents continue to remain optimistic about the community’s efforts to work towards progress.

“I think these violent crimes don’t represent our community as a whole, and that these are symptoms of root issues in the community that need to be addressed through a variety of ways,” Gates said. “It’s not just on government, but it’s really on all of us. We all have to understand that we’re in the same canoe, and that we have to paddle together.”

Crabbe said the community should remain positive. “It’s super disheartening, and I don’t know where people can find the hope in themselves, but I also want to encourage people to stay as positive as possible.”

“We are hurting for the people who are caught up in the crossfire, but if we want to see something change, then we need to be a part of that change and be patient for that change to fully move forward,” said Crabbe.

Kila said the violence should not define the community.

“Systemically, there’s so many other factors at play affecting our families and communities that this is a byproduct,” Kila said. “It is not the representation of our community. For every one incident that happened of this severity, I can think of five other stories to tell of amazing work happening. I’m just grateful that there is work towards some resolution into a safer community.”

But DeCorte said the local community can only do so much.

“We’re doing what we can as a community, which is rallying together. We’re showing a visible presence. It’s not for lack of effectiveness on a community level,” DeCorte said. “When are we going to get some relief? When can we pass the baton?”