A case involving the 2021 police killing of an unarmed Black man in Honolulu will go to trial after the City Council opted to send the matter back to the courts on Thursday.

Council members were ready to approve a $1.5 million settlement in the wrongful death case of Lindani Myeni at a meeting last month but postponed the vote. strong opposition show dozens of Honolulu police officers as well as city officials including Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Prosecutor Steve Alm.

Armed and uniformed police filled the room as Myeni’s widow gave emotional testimony about her husband’s murder in support of the agreement.

City Council President Tommy Waters canceled the new vote scheduled for Thursday, saying the matter was in the courts. He said discussion of the case at last month’s meeting turned into “something resembling a heated legal trial, with speakers from both sides presenting passionate arguments and facts.”

The parties will meet next Thursday for a planning conference to set a hearing date. Bridget Morgan-Bickerton, representing Myeni’s widow, said the hearing could last three to five weeks.

Before last month’s meeting, the council’s Administrative and Legal Affairs Committee had recommended that the agreement be approved by the full council. The city’s corporate counsel and attorneys for Myeni’s widow, Lindsay Myeni, agreed to the settlement on Sept. 24.

High Emotions

Morgan-Bickerton said the council’s decision to reject action on the agreement, effectively canceling it, surprised her team.

“We’ve definitely never seen anything like this before,” Morgan-Bickerton said.

He objected to the appearance of dozens of Honolulu police officers armed and in uniform at last month’s meeting, calling it “bullying and intimidation.”

In his statement, Waters noted the intense emotions experienced in the incident and said that the case should be handled within the framework of the judicial system.

Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan said in a statement that the department respected Waters’ decision.

“While it is tragic that a life was lost, we believe a principle is at stake here and the judge or jury should have the opportunity to hear what happened that night,” the statement said. “I thank our officers for their courageous service and the community for their continued support of HPD.”

In his statement, Alm said that approval of the agreement would send the message that the officers involved in the incident acted with racial prejudices. Lindsay Myeni’s lawyers said police officers treated Lindsay differently because she was black.

But Alm said there was “zero evidence of this.”

“Officers should be held accountable if they do something wrong,” the statement reads. “But when they do something right, they need to be defended.”

Cleared of Error

Officers shot Lindani Myeni, 29 years old After a fight broke out outside a vacation home in Honolulu on April 14, 2021, Myen was charged with trespassing.

The two police officers who fired their weapons, Brent Sylvester and Garrick Orosco, was cleared of wrongdoing By Alm’s office in June 2021.

Orosco suffered multiple fractures to his face during the scuffle, and Alm noted that the officer was unable to return to work.

But lawyers for Myeni’s widow said the officers did not disclose that they were police officers when they approached the former South African rugby player that night. According to the lawsuit, he could not see who they were because it was dark and they were shining high-intensity flashlights in his face and he was trying to protect himself against the unidentified attackers.

Morgan-Bickerton said he was confident the jury would rule in his client’s favor. He said the lawyers were not seeking a specific amount of compensation, but described the previously agreed upon settlement amount for Myeni’s widow and two young children as “pocket money.”

“It’s hard not to see that the police here are criminals and doing something wrong,” he said. “The entire opposition completely ignores the facts.”

Lindani Myeni was an excellent athlete, a great singer and a “stand-up guy,” his friend Mateo Montoya-Collis said in a phone interview. Montoya-Collis met Myeni in 2017 while playing rugby for the American Raptors rugby club in Glendale, Colorado.

Montoya-Collis flew from Colorado to testify at Thursday’s City Council meeting. He said he was disappointed for Myeni’s family to see the vote on the deal canceled. He said he would return to Hawaii to testify at the hearing if he was called as a witness.

He described it as “heartbreaking” to think of Myeni’s children growing up without a father. He said throughout the time the two men played together, he was always inspired by Myeni’s ability to lift people’s morale and support his teammates.

“He was a great teammate, a great friend,” he said. “It left a lasting impression on me.”

Other Approved Placements

Separately, the council approved two other deals proposed following last week’s committee recommendations.

One of them was a $670,000 settlement. Federal lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ bar Scarlet Honolulu and Gay Island Guide’s newsletter against the Honolulu Liquor Commission, which accused it of using its power to violate plaintiffs’ civil rights.

In addition to the reward money, the deal also included oversight from a federal judge to ensure the liquor commission made progress in implementing longstanding recommendations from city audits to help stamp out its history of corruption and other allegations of improper behavior.

The other came after a 10-year-old girl was arrested and handcuffed at school for drawing what appeared to be a firearm with her head on the ground, according to court documents.

The girl’s mother, Tamara Taylor, filed a lawsuit against the Honolulu Police Department and the Hawaii Department of Education in 2022. police used excessive force and illegal discrimination against her daughter, a Black girl with ADHD who was the only child punished despite the involvement of other students. This settlement is $150,000.

Civil Beat reporter Ben Angarone contributed to this report.