HONOLULU (KHON2) — The officer who was attacked during an altercation in February 2023 took the stand today in the trial of the man who is accused of the attack.
Nakia Newton, a corporal in the Honolulu Police Department, took the stand and related that he was patrolling Laie when he got a call about a man that was blocking the road.
He went to speak to the male when he noticed he was holding a jack stand extension in his hand but put it down after Officer Newton asked him to several times.
The suspect, later identified as Hokuokalani Patoc, was erratic, according to Newton and was blocking the road, saying someone had stolen his bike.
He refused to move until a van came to the area.
As the van drove by, Patoc picked up the jack extension and hit Newton.
“He hit me in the back of the head … twice.”
As Newton was lying on the ground after the attack, Patoc allegedly stole the officerʻs subsidized police vehicle and drove around the north shore to town, eventually being stopped and arrested two hours later near ʻIolani Palace.
Bystanders assisted the officer and called 911.
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Newton, a 17-year veteran of the police department, was in critical condition after the attack and suffered several fractures to his skull, face and head as well as bleeding in the brain.
“Attempted murder of a civilian is punishable by a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, but attempted murder of a law enforcement officer carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. If convicted as charged, Mr. Patoc will spend the rest of his life behind bars,” Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm said at the time of Patocʻs indictment.
